ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Coastal Areas: Rights of Way

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's proposals for greater public access to the coast; and when he plans to undertake a public consultation on the issue.

Barry Gardiner: The Government received Natural England's report on 28 February in which they recommended that the Government should introduce new legislation to enable Natural England to align a "coastal access corridor" around the whole coast that people could enjoy with confidence and certainty. We are considering Natural England's advice and intend to issue a public consultation document in the spring.

Common Agricultural Policy

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the UK's budget for the Common Agricultural Policy was paid to farmers; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 23 March 2007
	Total 'Farm-based scheme' expenditure, as reflected in the Rural Payment Agency's (RPA) 2005-06 Resource Account, amounted to £2,293,579,000. Total 'Trader-based' expenditure amounted to £313,664,000.
	The percentage of farm-based expenditure is, therefore, 87.97 per cent.(1).
	These figures are accruals-based and cover England only.
	(1)Sourced from Notes 5,6 and 7 of RPA's 2005-06 Resource Account.

Docking of Working Dogs Tails (England)  Regulations 2007

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs why the draft Docking of Working Dogs' Tails (England) Regulations 2007 were withdrawn.

Ben Bradshaw: The draft Docking of Working Dogs' Tails (England) Regulations 2007 were not withdrawn.
	The regulations were debated in Grand Committee of the House of Lords on 7 March ( Hansard ref. GC13-GC20). An objection was raised on the regulations during the debate, which meant that the formal motion to consider the regulations was withdrawn. A new motion referring the regulations for debate on the Floor of the House was subsequently tabled. A debate on the Floor of the House has been arranged for Tuesday 27 March.
	My noble Friend Lord Rooker and my officials have had constructive informal dialogue with peers since the debate on 7 March.
	The regulations are expected to come into force on 6 April, at the same time as the main provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Energy Protection: Lighting

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely environmental benefits of banning the sale of energy inefficient, incandescent light bulbs.

Ian Pearson: Our current assessment is that, by removing incandescent light bulbs from the UK market and encouraging sales of the most efficient alternatives, we could avoid up to 1.2 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year by 2011.
	We welcome the European Commission's intention to work introduce regulatory measures relating to domestic lighting by 2010, with a phase out over the following years, but, as recently announced by the Chancellor, we will take voluntary action in the UK in advance of this. To this end, we will work with retailers and manufacturers to phase out inefficient light bulbs in the UK between 2008 and 2011.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Potatoes

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what studies his Department has  (a) carried out and  (b) supported on the health impact on farm animals of feeding them the by-products of the starched-altered GM potato EHG92-527-1.

Ian Pearson: My Department has not commissioned or supported any studies on the health impacts on farm animals of feeding with by-products of GM potato EH92-527-1. An application for EU marketing consent to cover this proposed use has been made under the GM food and feed regulation 1829/2003. Within the UK this is the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency.

Institute for Public Policy Research

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding the Environment Agency provided to  (a) the IPPR and  (b) IPPR Trading Ltd in each year since May 1997; and for what purpose funding was provided.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency is required to keep finance records only for six years.
	The value of payments made by the Environment Agency (EA) to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) or IPPR Trading Limited in each year since 2002 (excluding VAT) was as follows. For all items over £200, the Environment Agency has identified the purpose of the payment.
	
		
			  Year  Purpose of payment  Amount (£) 
			 2002 n/a 200 
			 2003 Report on sustainable development 5,000 
			 2004 Sustainable development event 5,000 
			 2005 Report on water efficiency 5,000 
			 2005(1) Environmental behaviour change debate 2,000 
			 2006 Supporting low carbon economy debate 5,000 
			 2006(1) Environmental debate 2,500 
			 (1) The EA holds events either jointly or on its own to debate environmental issues on the fringes of each of the three main party political conferences. These invoices reflect such events.

Seals: Shetland Islands

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the reasons for recent trends in the population of common seals in the Shetland Islands.

Ben Bradshaw: This is a devolved issue and is, therefore, a matter for the Scottish Executive.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Air Pollution

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the annual absolute carbon emissions of the parliamentary estate were in each of the last five years.

Nick Harvey: The annual absolute carbon emissions of the House of Commons estate in each of the last three years from gas and electricity are in the following table.
	
		
			  Absolute carbon emissions in tonnes 
			   Gas  Electricity  Total 
			 2003-04 1,158.9 2,257.6 3,416.5 
			 2004-05 1,078.8 2,270.3 3,349.0 
			 2005-06 1,163.1 2,302.7 3,465.8 
		
	
	Gas consumption reduced in 2004-05 and then increased in 2005-06; due to fluctuations in heating energy consumption caused by variations in outside temperatures measured in degree days. The following table shows the degree days for the Thames Valley region which includes London. From these figures a higher emission would have been expected in 2005-06. That it was not so is due to the installation of more efficient Palace boilers in 2004.
	
		
			  Degree Days 
			   Number 
			 2003-04 1,740 
			 2004-05 1,703 
			 2005-06 1,869 
		
	
	The steady increase in carbon emissions from electricity was due to an increase in electricity consumption in the Palace and 7 Millbank. This was due mainly to the installation and usage of more air conditioning units.
	The figures have been calculated from gas and electricity invoices and not meter readings taken by estate staff, but estimated invoices were amended using actual meter readings where possible. Natural gas invoices list several multiplying factors used to calculate each month's consumption and the existing monitoring and targeting system used on the parliamentary estate, based on staff meter readings, is not as sophisticated and therefore not as accurate.
	The figures for the years 2001-02 and 2002-03 have not been calculated since the energy invoices for those two years are not readily available.

Air Pollution

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what estimate the House authorities have made of the volume of  (a) carbon dioxide,  (b) methane,  (c) perfluorocarbons,  (d) nitrous oxide and  (e) carbon equivalent released by the incineration of waste from the House of Commons estate when calculating the estate's carbon footprint.

Nick Harvey: pursuant to the reply,  21 March 2007, Official Report, c. 907 W
	I regret that my previous answer was not published in full. The complete answer is set out as follows:
	Only residual waste after recycling has taken place is sent for incineration with energy recovery. In 2006 residual waste collected from the parliamentary estate amounted to 1,299 tonnes. This material was combusted at an energy recovery facility regulated by the Environment Agency, generating 725,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. The recovered energy is classed as renewable energy by the UK Government, in line with directive 2001/77/EC on the promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market.
	Recovering energy from waste is acknowledged in the Stern Review as an effective weapon in combating climate change, displacing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel power generation sources.
	The carbon footprint associated with the combustion of this waste is made up of a number of components:
	(1) Direct emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), expressed as carbon equivalents
	(2) "Avoided" emissions of GHG (that is, emissions displaced from an equivalent amount of fossil fuel power generating capacity)
	(3) GHG emissions (additional or saved) from waste transportation
	(4) Net GHG emissions, taking account of direct, avoided and transport-related emissions.
	 Direct emissions of GHG
	GHG emissions from waste combustion are calculated in two steps. First, an estimate is made of the percentage of fossil and non-fossil carbon in the waste. Second, the emissions from the combustion of the fossil carbon within the waste are calculated. Emissions of non-fossil carbon do not contribute to global warming and are therefore not taken into account.
	Methane is not produced in combustion plants. The remaining greenhouse gases are released in trace quantities relative to emissions of carbon dioxide. Because their concentrations in the emission gases vary according to the composition of the waste, the total GHG effect expressed in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (Teq) is estimated using emission factors developed by Defra, based on measured emissions averaged across UK energy recovery facilities.
	Direct GHG emissions following the combustion of residual waste from parliamentary estates amounts to 415 Teq, of which 295 Teq is carbon dioxide.
	 "Avoided" e missions of GHG
	Combustion of parliamentary estates waste in an energy recovery facility also results in avoided carbon dioxide emissions. The electricity produced by the facility displaces electricity that would otherwise be provided by an electricity utility power plant. Because most utility power plants burn fossil fuels and thus emit carbon dioxide, the electricity produced by waste combustion reduces utility carbon dioxide emissions. These avoided GHG emissions must be subtracted from the GHG emissions associated with combustion of the waste.
	The convention is to assume that the electricity displaced arises from so-called "marginal" power generators, which in the UK is assumed to be gas-fired power stations. As with direct GHG emissions, emission factors are used to estimate the tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents avoided when waste is combusted.
	GHG emissions avoided following the combustion of residual waste from parliamentary estates amounts to 435 Teq, of which 405 Teq is carbon dioxide.
	 GHG emissions from waste transportation
	A saving in GHG emissions is realized when residual waste from the parliamentary estates is combusted, since the energy recovery facility is just 12 miles from the House. Previously the waste was being transported to landfill further away from the estate.
	The GHG emission factor developed by Defra for waste transportation varies between 0.37 and 0.49 kg carbon dioxide equivalents per tonne of waste transported, depending on distance travelled. For transportation of 1,299 tonnes of parliamentary estates waste, this amounts to a GHG emission of between 0.48-0.65 Teq. Since this is less than 1 per cent. of the emissions of direct or avoided emissions, the GHG saving in transporting the waste a shorter distance will be omitted when presenting net emissions.
	 Net GHG emissions
	The carbon footprint associated with the combustion of waste from the parliamentary estates is obtained by subtracting avoided emissions from direct emissions.
	This equates to a net GHG saving of 20 Teq. Therefore 20 Teq should be subtracted when determining the total carbon footprint of parliamentary estates.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Written Statements

Oliver Heald: To ask the Leader of the House if he will take steps to ensure that an electronic version of each written ministerial statement is provided to the Library on the day it is made.

Jack Straw: Following a recommendation from the Librarian, Government Departments now supply the Library with an electronic version of each written ministerial statement on the day it is made. I understand the system is working well, but if the hon. Gentleman is aware of any failings in this respect he should please let the Librarian and me know.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what large scale reconstruction projects have been completed in Afghanistan since 2002.

Hilary Benn: This information is not available and to obtain it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Developing Countries: AIDS

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will seek a reduction in the price of the essential medicines for AIDS treatment at the forthcoming G8 Development Ministers meeting; and if he will raise the issue of patent barriers at the meeting.

Gareth Thomas: We welcome the German G8 Presidency's continued focus on HIV/AIDS including universal access to prevention, treatment and care, and essential medicines for AIDS treatment for all that need it. Development Ministers will include reducing the price of first and second line anti-retrovirals, and intellectual property issues, in their discussions. They will also consider related factors, such as research and development funding and propose a UN stock-take to review countries' universal access plans. A rapid review would strengthen efforts to deliver universal access and help realise our commitment to ensuring that "costed, inclusive, sustainable, credible and evidence-based national HIV/AIDS plans are funded" as agreed at the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV and AIDS in June 2006.
	We are working to encourage G8 partners to support and subscribe to mechanisms to help reduce medicine prices, for example as the UK and France have done by joining the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNITAID), the drug purchase facility. One of the first actions of UNITAID, which started work in September 2006, was to negotiate lower prices for paediatric HIV/AIDS treatment expected to benefit 100,000 children. Through its long-term and predictable funding, UNITAID has an explicit aim to help lower drug prices. We are also working closely with the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative to make paediatric AIDS treatments more widely available.

Palestinians: EC Aid

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been paid to HSBC to transfer social welfare payments to Palestinian  (a) workers,  (b) pensioners and  (c) welfare recipients; and who has paid the costs of transferring these funds.

Hilary Benn: The total fees paid so far to HSBC are €2,931,028. Of this €158,823 was for payments to pensioners; €1,910,125 for payments to workers; and €862,080 for payments to social hardship cases. Costs have been paid by each donor contributing to the TIM, proportionate to their contribution. So far the TIM has disbursed a total of €181 million in direct assistance and to support basic services for the Palestinian people.

Palestinians: EC Aid

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many European Commission staff are involved in administering the Temporary International Mechanism.

Hilary Benn: There are six European Commission staff working in the Temporary International Mechanism Management Unit in Jerusalem.

Palestinians: EC Aid

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment the European Commission has undertaken of the operation of the Temporary International Mechanism; how Palestinians were included in this process; and what the conclusions were.

Hilary Benn: The European Commission and the World Bank have begun work on a review of the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM). This will assess the impact of each of the TIM's three windows as well as its overall impact. Consultation with Palestinians and the international community is expected to take place from April 2007.
	So far the TIM has provided €181 million in direct support to the Palestinian people, including financial assistance benefiting an estimated 900,000 people and supplies to keep basic services going, including over 4.6 million litres of fuel for power supplies in Gaza. Increased EU and other donor funding is assessed as the main reason that the decline in the Palestinian economy over the last year has been much less than feared. The TIM has made an important contribution in this regard.

United Nations

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate his Department has made of the annual recurrent costs of maintaining a high level of preparedness among UN agencies.

Gareth Thomas: United Nations' agencies ensure, with support from DFID and others, that they are prepared to lead the humanitarian response to natural disasters and longer term crises caused by conflict. DFID provides institutional and operational funding (which can often include preparedness activities) to UN humanitarian agencies, including the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN Children's Fund, the World Health Organisation, the World Food Programme and the UN High Commission for Refugees. The UN agencies do not have an agreed definition of preparedness and do not budget for this on a consistent basis. It is not therefore possible to estimate the annual recurrent costs of maintaining a high level of preparedness for UN agencies.

Whales

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with his foreign counterparts on whaling in the last 12 months.

Gareth Thomas: The Secretary of State has had no discussions on whaling with his foreign counterparts. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) are the Government lead on national and international issues related to whaling.

Zimbabwe

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.

Hilary Benn: I am extremely concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. About 1 million Zimbabweans are reliant on international food aid as the next harvest approaches. There has been confirmation of almost total crop failure in the southern part of the country. Many Zimbabweans face difficulty buying food because of the terrible economic situation resulting from the appalling policies of their Government. AIDS is also contributing to high mortality rates resulting in over 1.3 million orphans; approximately one in four children.
	DFID has spent £33 million in the last financial year to tackle food insecurity and HIV/AIDS. All of our funding in Zimbabwe goes through UN agencies and NGOs. DFID has provided £3 million to support World Food Programmes. We have also provided £30 million for a three year programme to help over a million vulnerable people in rural and urban areas through NGO initiatives. DFID is also providing £5 million to the International Organisation for Migration to help internally displaced people.

SCOTLAND

Advocate-General for Scotland

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost was of travel by train by staff in the Office of the Advocate-General in each year since 1997.

David Cairns: The Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland was established on 20 May 1999. The Scotland Office provides corporate services, such as paying invoices and travel claims, to the Office of the Advocate-General. Separate figures are, however, not available for 1999-2000 and 2000-01; thereafter, the figures for the Office of the Advocate-General are:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2001-02 16,097.50 
			 2002-03 21,277.30 
			 2003-04 15,614.55 
			 2004-05 16,944.15 
			 2005-06 21,445.60

Advocate-General for Scotland

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff were employed to work in the Office of the Advocate-General in each year since 1997.

David Cairns: The Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland was established on 20 May 1999. Staffing figures are published in the Office's Departmental and Annual Reports, copies of which are lodged in the House Library.

Advocate-General for Scotland

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his estimate is of the expenditure by the Advocate-General's Office on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in each year since 1997.

David Cairns: The Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland was established on 20 May 1999. The Scotland Office provides corporate services, such as the payment of invoices, to the Office of the Advocate-General. Separate figures for newspapers and magazines for each Office are not recorded; and the cost of periodicals is subsumed within the overall library costs, such as the purchase of books. Expenditure by both Offices on newspapers and magazines was:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1999-2000 9,096 
			 2000-01 13,639 
			 2001-02 12,968 
			 2002-03 12,990 
			 2003-04 12,556 
			 2004-05 11,546 
			 2005-06 9,318

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departments: Equal Opportunities

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its sponsored public bodies has produced on making the award of public contracts conditional on the bidding private sector firms meeting equality or diversity criteria or targets.

Anne McGuire: The Department its agencies and sponsored public bodies (The Health and Safety Executive and The Rent Service) will continue to take account of the guidance issued by the Office for Government Commerce (OGC) in relation to awarding of public contracts. OGC has published the guidance note Social Issues in Purchasing which outlines the scope to take account of social considerations such as equality and diversity issues in the procurement process in line with the European procurement rules and the Government's procurement policy based on value for money.
	DWP procurement guidance states that potential suppliers should be precluded from bidding for contracts if they are in breach of UK law, this includes equality legislation and unique legislation on disability issues for example sheltered workshops. Contracts require suppliers to meet statutory legal requirements including those in respect of equality and diversity issues and our contracts require suppliers not to discriminate in employment practice.

Departments: Postal Services

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which postal companies handle mail dispatched by his Department and its agencies.

Anne McGuire: The DWP and its agencies use four postal companies to handle mail.
	Royal Mail collect, sort and deliver mail from majority of DWP sites including the collection of first class mail from a DWP supplier who produces mail on behalf of the Department.
	UK Mail handle approximately 80 million items of DWP second class mail collected from two regional distribution centres and passed into the Royal Mail delivery office network for final mile delivery under down stream access.
	Spring is responsible for the collection, sort and onward dispatch for final delivery of departmental international mail.
	TNT is responsible for the courier service for the Department's internal mail. This also includes the distribution of internal mail and stationery from our print suppliers.

Homelessness: Training

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was allocated to training for homeless people in London from resources received from the European Social Fund in each quarter of 2007; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The European Social Fund (ESF) supports employment and training activities. It is increasingly being focused on improving the employment prospects and skills of people who are at a disadvantage in the labour market. However, the England ESF programme and the London regional ESF plan do not break down ESF funds into financial allocations for specific groups such as homeless people. The target for ESF spending in London in 2007 is £77,450,422.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  which local authorities he has consulted on his plans to change the housing benefit subsidy for homeless households in temporary accommodation;
	(2)  if he will publish the responses to his consultation on his plans to change the housing benefit subsidy for homeless households in temporary accommodation;
	(3)  if he will place in the Library a copy of his consultation paper on his plans to change the housing benefit subsidy for homeless households in temporary accommodation.

James Plaskitt: Consultation on any aspect of housing benefit (HB) is not undertaken with individual local authorities but via their representative associations—the Local Government Association, the Association of London Councils, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association.
	The large increase in HB expenditure in temporary accommodation was first discussed at a meeting with the Local Authority Associations in August 2006 and there were further discussions with representatives of the associations in November and December 2006 and January 2007.
	Three DWP discussion papers were issued and both verbal and written responses were received from the representative associations. Copies of the discussion papers have been placed in the Library and will be published on the DWP website. Subject to third party approval, which we are in the process of obtaining, copies of responses will also be placed in the House of Commons Library and on the DWP website as soon as possible.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of non-housing revenue account expenditure on homeless households in temporary accommodation in each year since 2002-03.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Non-housing revenue account expenditure on homeless households in temporary accommodation (nominal terms ) 
			  £ million 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Estimated GB temporary housing expenditure 307 374 501 599 
			 Subsidised 244 308 456 551 
			 Unsubsidised 62 66 45 48 
		
	
	
		
			  Non-housing revenue account expenditure on homeless households in temporary accommodation (real terms 2006-07 prices) 
			  £ million 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Estimated GB temporary Housing expenditure 339 402 524 615 
			 Subsidised 271 331 477 566 
			 Unsubsidised 69 71 47 49 
			 Notes: 1. Expenditure data is taken from local authorities' subsidy returns. 2. All figures are final audited data with the exception of 2005-06 which is provisional (pre-audited) data. 3. GDP deflator is the latest available as at 5 pm on 12 March 2007, last updated 21 December 2006, and is taken from www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/economic_data_and_tools/gdp_deflators/data_gdp_fig_cfm 4. Due to historical differences in the treatment of Scottish rent rebate expenditure, it is not possible from local authority subsidy returns to identify all expenditure on temporary accommodation in Scotland. These figures may therefore slightly understate temporary accommodation expenditure. From an assessment of the England and Wales data, we estimate that this understatement would be of the order of £1-2 million.

Income Support

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of children lived in households in receipt of income support in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Numbers of children living in households in receipt of income support (IS) in Great Britain; as at April each year 
			   Number of dependent children in IS households  Percentage of dependent children 
			 2004 1,978,650 17.6 
			 2005 1,865,720 16.7 
			 2006 1,828,275 16.4 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded the nearest five. 2. Figures exclude a very small number of cases that are held clerically. 3. Figures are for children dependent on a parent/guardian claiming income support. 4. Due to the introduction of child tax credits in April 2003, information on child dependents held on the benefit computer system is not reliable; therefore children data have been merged onto income support claims from child benefit records with permission of HMRC.  Source: DWP and HMRC data

IT Projects

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many information technology projects within the responsibility of his Department, its agencies and their predecessors have been cancelled since 1997; what the total cost was of each project at cancellation; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions was created in June 2001.
	The Department undertakes a large number of projects which deliver business change and policy initiatives. IT changes are an enabling component of many projects. The number of projects in train at any one time will vary and the duration of the project lifecycle is often more than one calendar year. The following table includes only those projects that have been formally closed where the IT element is such that non-delivery of the IT would significantly damage the project's ability to deliver its intended results and the investment in the project has exceeded £1 million.
	
		
			  Project name  Investment expenditure (£ million) 
			 Document Management (closed 2006-07) 1.4 
			 Retirement Planner (closed 2004-05) 11.2 
			 E-enabled Retirement Pension (closed 2006-07) 1.8 
			 Benefits Processing Replacement Programme (BPRP) (closed 2006-07) (1)135 
			 Customer Accounting and Payment Strategy (closed 1999-2000) 127 
			 Debt Accounting and Management System (closed 1999-2000) 13 
			 (1 )Including future commitments 
		
	
	A significant amount of the investment in BPRP is of future value to the Department. We estimate that at least half of the sum invested (around £73 million) is of future value to the Department. Similarly the benefits realised by the Debt Accounting and Management System project exceeded the costs incurred of £13 million and thus no actual loss occurred.
	The costs of the Customer Accounting and Payment System are the estimated costs for that project at the time of closure.

Means-Tested Benefits

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of each means-tested benefit administered by his Department in each year since 1990-91.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Income support (IS) and minimum income guarantee (MIG) recipients in Great Britain each year, 1990 to 2006 
			   AIMS  MIG  Non-MIG  IS for the unemployed 
			 May 1990 4,180,000 1,675,000 1,442,000 1,063,000 
			 May 1991 4,487,000 1,575,000 1,577,000 1,335,000 
			 May 1992 5,088,000 1,643,000 1,783,000 1,662,000 
			 May 1993 5,643,000 1,736,000 1,987,000 1,920,000 
			 August 1994 5,702,000 1,785,000 2,109,000 1,887,000 
			 August 1995 3,931,000 1,737,000 2,193,000 1,681,000 
			 August 1996 4,007,000 1,727,000 2,278,000 1,502,000 
			 August 1997 3,991,000 1,687,000 2,305,000 n/a 
			 August 1998 3,863,000 1,624,000 2,239,000 n/a 
			 August 1999 3,849,000 1,598,000 2,251,000 n/a 
			 August 2000 3,892,000 1,637,000 2,254,000 n/a 
			 August 2001 3,998,000 1,724,000 2,275,000 n/a 
			 August 2002 3,998,000 1,740,000 2,259,000 n/a 
			 August 2003 4,041,000 1,800,000 2,241,000 n/a 
			 August 2004 2,202,000 11,000 2,191,000 n/a 
			 August 2005 2,148,000 10,000 2,138,000 n/a 
			 August 2006 2,138,000 10,000 2,129,000 n/a 
		
	
	
		
			  Pension credit recipients in Great Britain as at August each year, 2004 to 2006 
			   Number 
			 August 2004 2,593,000 
			 August 2005 2,697,000 
			 August 2006 2,728,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Income-based jobseeker's allowance recipients in Great Britain as at August each year, 1997 to 2006 
			   Number 
			 1997 1,182,000 
			 1998 1,031,000 
			 1999 928,000 
			 2000 800,000 
			 2001 695,000 
			 2002 664,000 
			 2003 635,000 
			 2004 588,000 
			 2005 634,000 
			 2006 708,000 
			 n/a = Not applicable  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000. 2. Pension credit was introduced on 6 October 2003 and replaced minimum income guarantee (income support for people aged 60 or over). The vast majority of people who were previously in receipt of the minimum income guarantee transferred to pension credit in October 2003 however some residual cases remain on the income support statistics. 3. income support for the unemployed was replaced by income-based jobseeker's allowance in October 1996. 4. IS figures for August 1994 to August 1998 and all JSA (IB) figures have been derived by applying 5per cent. proportions to 100 per cent. WPLS totals. 5. Some income-based JSA claimants may also be entitled to benefit via the contributory route.  Source: DWP 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS), DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. samples and IS ASE 5 per cent. data

National Insurance Numbers

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions his Department checked the immigration status of applicants for national insurance numbers in each year since 1997; and how many applications were refused as a result.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Prior to July 2006, individuals entering the UK from abroad who required a National Insurance number (NINO) had to attend Jobcentre Plus for an evidence of identity interview. The interviewing process was primarily designed to guard against identity fraud. If Jobcentre Plus became aware of immigration or right to work irregularities it advised the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate of this so that appropriate action could be taken.
	From July 2006 a "right to work" pre-condition for all employment-related NINO applications was introduced. This prevents anyone who does not have the right to work from being allocated a NINO for employment purposes. From July 2006 to 30 November 2006 a total of 1,529 NINO applications were refused on the basis of not satisfying the right to work test.

New Deal

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost to his Department of each new deal programme has been in each year since 2001.

Jim Murphy: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  New deal costs since 2001 
			  £ million 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 New deal for young people 308 314 264 254 198 
			 New deal 25 plus 213 238 189 179 125 
			 New deal 50 plus 87 87 41 3 1 
			 New deal for lone parents 46 62 20 24 26 
			 New deal for disabled people 10 31 28 65 68 
			 New deal for partners 8 6 0 1 1 
			 Admin n/a n/a 111 113 121 
			  Notes: 1. Figures include all new deal costs including administrative expenditure up to 2002-03. Information on administrative expenditure by individual new deal is not available for 2003-04 and later years. 2. Spend data also includes allowances paid to participants apart from the 50 plus element of the working tax credit which is the responsibility of HMRC. As this is not included, new deal 50 plus costs reduce after 2002-03. 3. Spend on new deal for partners in 2003-04 was less than £0.5 million and is thus not recorded as figures are rounded to the nearest £ million. 4. Start dates for each programme are: new deal for young people: January 1998; new deal 25 plus: July 1998; new deal for lone parents: October 1998; new deal 50 plus: April 2000; new deal for disabled people: July 2001; new deal for partners: April 1999.  Source:  Department for Work and Pensions Financial Control Division

New Deal

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the cost per job placement of  (a) the New Deal for Young People and  (b) New Deal 25 plus.

Jim Murphy: We estimate that the average cost of helping someone into work through new deal for young people is £2,789 and through new deal 25 plus is £3,471. This data is for the period ending March 2006 and excludes administration costs.

Pensioners: Tees Valley

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners live in  (a) Hartlepool borough council and  (b) Tees Valley sub-region areas; how many are in receipt of council tax benefit; and what percentage this represents of the total number of pensioners living in each area.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Council tax benefit recipients by age and local authority, August 2006 
			  Local authority  Council tax benefit recipients aged 60 and over( 1)  Population aged 60 and over  Percentage of population aged 60 and over in receipt of council tax benefit 
			 Darlington 5,090 22,200 23.0 
			 Hartlepool 6,390 19,200 33.3 
			 Middlesbrough 7,880 27,000 29.2 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 8,270 32,800 25.2 
			 Stockton on Tees 8,910 37,100 24.0 
			 (1) Council tax benefit figures exclude any second adult rebate cases.  Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. Council tax benefit caseloads are rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages to one decimal place. 3. Population figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 4. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 5. "Aged 60 and over" is defined as benefit units where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 and over. Therefore figures will contain some claimants aged under60 where there is a partner aged over 60 years.  Source: Housing benefit and council tax benefit management information system. Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in August 2006; and mid-2005 ONS population estimates

Social Security Benefits

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's policy is on paying  (a) social security benefits and  (b) job seeker's allowance to people who live with a partner who works more than 24 hours per week; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: Income support and income-based jobseeker's allowance are non-contributory benefits. The full basis for entitlement is set out in regulations. The principal rule in relation to remunerative work is that, where the claimant works 16 hours or more a week or the claimant's partner works 24 hours or more a week the claimant does not satisfy the conditions of entitlement. For those cases where the couple is obliged to make a joint claim for JSA, the 16-hour rule applies to both partners because both are claimants.
	In cases other than joint claim JSA cases, where the claimant's partner is working between 16 and 24 hours a week, it may be possible for the couple to claim both working tax credit and either income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance. In such cases, there is an automatic entitlement to maximum working tax credit, but the claimant's entitlement to income support and income-based jobseeker's allowance will be reduced pound for pound by the working tax credit that is paid.

Social Security Benefits

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's policy is on paying  (a) social security benefits and  (b) job seeker's allowance to people who live with a parent who works more than 24 hours per week; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: Both Income Support and income-based jobseeker's allowance are available to those who satisfy the qualifying criteria. The fact that a non-dependent young person may choose to continue to live in their parents' household does not in any way affect their entitlement to these benefits.

TRANSPORT

Departments: Ministers

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Ministers in his Department have had meetings with former Ministers of the Department in the last three months.

Gillian Merron: Department for Transport Ministers meet with ministerial colleagues and former ministerial colleagues in the course of performing their ministerial duties.

Departments: Official Engagements

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who has had access to the diaries of his Department's  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in the last three months.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport employs some 19,000 officials. Identification of who would have access to each official's diary could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Access to ministerial diaries is limited to those who support the Minister in their ministerial duties

Departments: Security

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2007,  Official Report, column 18W, if he will break down by commercial and industrial sector the 4711 passes issued to contractors and consultants by his Department.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 22 March 2007
	The Department's access control systems used to calculate the number of passes previously advised in the answer of 12 March 2007,  Official Report, column 18W, do not contain any further information to provide a meaningful breakdown of those passes issued to commercial and industrial sectors.

Exhaust Emissions: Pollution Control

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the progress of motor manufacturers towards meeting the targets for new car emission levels set out in the 1998 agreement between the European Automobile Manufacturers Association and the European Commission.

Stephen Ladyman: For 2004 (the last year for which EU figures are available), the average new car efficiency for the EU was 163g/km (grams carbon dioxide emitted for every kilometre travelled). The agreement between the European Commission and the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) was for ACEA members to meet an efficiency target of 140g/km by 2008.
	While the 2004 figure shows a 12 per cent. gain in efficiency since 1995 (the first year of the EU-manufacturer emissions agreements), it is also clear that the 2008 target is unlikely to be met. Because of this, the Commission recently announced its intention to legislate on emissions: by mid-2008, it will propose legislation requiring manufacturers to reach an emissions level of 130g/km by 2012 (with other measures taking the overall target to the equivalent of 120g/km). While details around the target level are still being considered, we welcome in principle the Commission's intention to bring forward mandatory proposals.

Galileo Satellite Navigation System

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his latest estimate is of the date when the Galileo satellite navigation system will be fully functional.

Stephen Ladyman: The latest information provided by the European Commission gives 2012 as the date for full operational capability to be achieved. This is subject to the successful conclusion of negotiations with the consortium bidding for the public private partnership (PPP) contract.

Heathrow Airport: Air Traffic

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of flights were delayed from landing by having to circle or stack at Heathrow airport in  (a) the last 12 months and  (b) the last three years; if he will determine what effect this has on (i) fuel consumption and (ii) pollution; what action is being taken to reduce these delays; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport does not hold this information.

HGV Drivers

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers his Department has to ensure that foreign drivers unable to obtain HGV licences in the UK for medical reasons do not drive in the UK.

Stephen Ladyman: Driving unlicensed is an offence under the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 and the penalty reflects the seriousness of that offence. On conviction the driver is liable to disqualification from driving all vehicles. The police will continue to enforce the law.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons estimates of the number of foreign registered vehicles on UK roads are not available, as referred to in the answer of 9 January 2006,  Official Report, column 28W, on vehicle registration.

Stephen Ladyman: Estimates of the number of foreign registered vehicles on UK roads are not available because comprehensive data of this nature are not collected.
	However, an estimate of the number of foreign registered heavy goods vehicles entering GB is available from an ad-hoc survey undertaken in 2003. The report entitled "Foreign Vehicle activity in GB in 2003" was placed in the House of Commons Library and is also available online at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/freight/foreignvehicle/coll_surveyofforeignvehicleactiv/surveyofforeignvehicleactivi5130.

Rapid Transit Systems

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many light rail projects his Department has considered since 1997.

Tom Harris: 18 schemes have been considered since 1997, some of which were considered more than once in different forms.

Road Charging

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1456W, on tolls, whether the  (a) London congestion charge and  (b) Durham congestion charge are compliant with the requirements of EU Directive 2004/52/EC.

Stephen Ladyman: Article 1(2) of the EU Directive 2004/52, states that the directive does not apply to road toll systems:
	for which no electronic means of toll collection exists.
	which do not need the installation of on-board equipment.
	which are small, strictly local road toll systems for which the costs of compliance with the requirements of this directive would be disproportionate to the benefits.
	Both the London congestion charge and Durham congestion charge are therefore exempt from the EU Directive 2004/52 as they do not require vehicles to install on-board equipment and do not use electronic means to collect the charge.

Road Traffic

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of the  (a) motorway and  (b) strategic trunk network have been widened to ease traffic bottlenecks since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The following table lists the schemes within the strategic roads programme which have been widened in order to ease traffic congestion since 1997.
	
		
			   Length of scheme  (Miles) 
			  Motorway schemes  
			 A1 (M) Wetherby-Walshford 3.11 
			 M5 Junctions 17-18a Northbound Climbing Lane (Hallen Hill) 1.30 
			 M25J12-1 5 Widening 7.08 
			 A1(M) Ferrybridge-Hook Moor 10.56 
			 M60 J5-8 Widening 4.60 
			 M5 Junctions 19-20 Southbound Climbing Lane (Naish Hill) 2.11 
			 M5 Junctions 19-20 Northbound Climbing Lane (Tickenham Hill) 2.05 
			 Total 30.82 
			   
			  Trunk road schemes  
			 A1 1 Roudham Heath-Attleborough Improvement 6.21 
			 A1 Willowburn-Denwick Improvement 2.49 
			 A46 Newark-Lincoln Improvement 4.97 
			 A1033 Hedon Road Improvement 4.16 
			 A120 Stansted-Braintree Improvement 14.29 
			 A2 Bean-Cobham Phase 1 Bean-Tollgate 2.55 
			 A249 Iwade-Queenborough Improvement (DBFO) 3,1.1 
			 A11 Attleborough Bypass 3.23 
			 Total 41.01 
			   
			 Total motorways and trunk roads 71.83

Tolls: Greater Manchester

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has selected Manchester as a location for a road user pricing pilot.

Stephen Ladyman: No decisions have been taken on areas to take forward local road pricing.
	Greater Manchester is one of 10 areas to be awarded pump-priming funding to support the development of Transport Innovation Fund packages that address local congestion problems by combining demand management, including road pricing, with better public transport.
	It is for the local authority to decide whether to propose such a scheme.

Transport

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the timetable for the draft Transport Bill.

Stephen Ladyman: The draft Road Transport Bill is due to be published later in the spring.

Vehicle Emissions

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by what date he expects to approve technology and testing standards for equipment that could be fitted to vehicles to abate emissions of nitrogen oxide in relation to the enforcement to Euro IV standards.

Stephen Ladyman: Euro IV standards are mandatory for all new cars, vans, lorries and buses registered in the United Kingdom, and indeed Europe. Test procedures are therefore already in place for type approval to these standards.
	Diesel lorries and buses meeting earlier Euro standards are eligible for reduced road tax if they have been retrofitted to reduce their particulate emissions (but not NOx emissions) to Euro IV levels. Such retrofit emissions control devices are approved through the Reduced Pollution Certificate scheme.
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer has recently announced that the Reduced Pollution Certificate scheme will be extended to offer reduced road tax to lorries and buses meeting the Euro V standards ahead of the date that this becomes mandatory (1 October 2009). Euro V differs from Euro IV solely in terms of the limits on oxides of nitrogen emissions. The exact details of the requirements for issuing Reduced Pollution Certificates to Euro V compliant vehicles, including any test procedures required, have not yet been decided.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departments: Postal Services

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which postal companies handle mail dispatched by her Department and its agencies.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport uses the following postal companies: Royal Mail, IDS (Interdepartmental Dispatch Service), Parcelforce and City Sprint. Our executive agency, the Royal Parks, uses the following postal companies: Royal Mail and City Sprint.

Departments: Recruitment

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on newsprint recruitment advertising in each of the last five years; and which newspapers it used for such purposes over that period.

David Lammy: The cost of newsprint advertising cannot be easily separated from other recruitment expenditure without disproportionate cost.
	Senior posts are typically advertised in  The Times or  The Guardian, and, if appropriate, the specialist press. More junior positions are advertised in the London press.

Departments: Recruitment

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many vacancies there are within her Department.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has 12 vacancies currently.

Departments: Recruitment

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department has spent on recruitment in the last five years, broken down by  (a) costs incurred directly by her Department,  (b) costs incurred through the employment of recruitment agencies and agents and  (c) other costs.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has paid the following amounts on the recruitment of permanent staff in the last five years:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2001-02 27,079 
			 2002-03 115,369 
			 2003-04 70,786 
			 2004-05 34,931 
			 2005-06 130,980 
		
	
	A breakdown of these amounts as requested could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Gaming Clubs

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether  (a) the Chairman and  (b) other members of the Casino Advisory Panel read the Joint Committee's Report on the Gambling Bill during their deliberations on the award of casino licences.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 13 March 2007
	The Chairman and members of the Casino Advisory Panel read the report of the Joint Committee on the Draft Gambling Bill: Draft Gambling Bill Session 2003-2004 Volumes I to III and Joint Committee on the Draft Gambling Bill: Draft Gambling Bill (Regional Casinos) Volumes I and II and used this information to inform their conclusions.

Gaming Clubs: Licensing

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many regional casinos must be licensed in the pilot scheme in order to comply with the EU legislation relating to freedom of enterprise.

Richard Caborn: The Government are satisfied that the Gambling Act 2005 complies with EU law. The Act provides for three new categories of casinos: one regional casino, eight large and eight small casinos.

National Lottery: Grants

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of funding provided by each lottery distributor went to voluntary and community sector organisations in each of the last five years.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 22 March 2007
	 This information is not available in detail for all lottery distributors. However, the information that we do have suggests that distributors channel a significant amount of their funding through the voluntary and community sector (VCS).
	For example the Heritage Lottery Fund estimates that in 2005-06, 55 per cent. of its lottery awards were made to the third sector. Its estimates for the previous four years are 39 per cent. in 2004-05, 51 per cent. in 2003-04, 45 per cent. in 2002-03 and 50 per cent. in 2001-02.
	The Arts Council England estimates that in 2005-06, it awarded approximately 60 per cent. of its budget to the VCS.
	Sport England estimates that around 30 per cent. of its funding has gone to the VCS over the lifetime of the lottery.
	Since 2004-05, the total annual Community Fund budget and approximately 40 per cent. of the New Opportunities Fund budget has been allocated to the voluntary and community sector. From 2006-07, the Big Lottery Fund made a new undertaking to allocate 60-70 per cent. of its total budget to the voluntary and community sector and will be reporting on its performance against this target in its annual report.

Olympic Delivery Authority

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the  (a) roles and  (b) pay grades are of (i) Board and (ii) Committee members of the Olympic Delivery Authority.

Richard Caborn: The roles of the Board members and Committee members of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) are detailed in the Management Statement and the Standing Orders and Terms of Reference for each established Committee (Audit, Communications, Finance, Planning, Remuneration and Risk). These can be found on the ODA's website at www.london2012.com. Remuneration for the chairman's post is set at £300,000 per annum pro rata and requires a two to three day per week time commitment. Other Board members and Committee members are remunerated at the rate of £500 per day for each whole day or half day that they spend on ODA business.

Olympic Games

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate the likely effect on lottery resources available to voluntary and community bodies of national lottery funding for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Tessa Jowell: The Government and the Big Lottery Fund have agreed that the fund's resources for the voluntary and community sector will be protected. They will continue to receive £2 billion, as they expect, from the Big Lottery Fund between now and 2012.
	The voluntary and community sector also receives lottery funding from distributors for the other good causes, the arts, heritage and sport. At this stage it is not possible to estimate the effect on this funding of the recently revised Olympic budget. No decisions have been taken by Arts Council England or the Heritage Lottery Fund about possible adaptations to their lottery programmes. They intend to honour all existing commitments and they remain committed to supporting the voluntary and community sectors in their fields. Furthermore, a significant proportion of Sport England's investment is directed to the voluntary and community sector and I expect this to continue also. My Department will also be working closely with all distributors to ensure they are able to fully benefit from the many opportunities London 2012 will afford.

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will break down by area of planned expenditure the £390 million allocated for sport in the public sector funding package for the 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 23 March 2007
	 The £388 million in the public sector funding package allocated for investment in non Olympic Delivery Authority provision comprises: £290 million from the Sports Lottery for investment in elite and community sport; a £66 million contribution to the Paralympics costs; and £32 million for other non Olympic Delivery Authority costs.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department has benchmarked the expenditure on administrative costs accrued by the Olympic Delivery Authority in relation to the construction of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games against the administrative budgets for previous Olympic Games; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: Administration costs are specific to the particular state of the labour market in each country. We have not therefore benchmarked the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA's) administration costs against those for previous Olympic Games. We will however, continue to press down on those costs to ensure that they are contained within the budget agreed.
	The total cost of the ODA's programme delivery budget represents around 10 per cent. Of the total costs of the ODA programme, which is consistent with industry norms for a project of this scale, complexity and concentration.

Sports: Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) the Government and  (b) the Big Lottery Fund spent on elite sport, including facilities and major events, in each of the last five years; and how much is planned to be spent in each of the next five years.

Richard Caborn: UK Sport is the Government's lead agency for elite sport in the UK and a lottery distributor. The table provides details of the level of Government and national lottery funding to UK Sport over the last five years.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Exchequer funding  Lottery funding  Total 
			 2002-03 5,100,000 22,100,000 27,200,000 
			 2003-04 11,500,000 17,700,000 29,200,000 
			 2004-05 16,400,000 14,300,000 30,700,000 
			 2005-06 16,300,000 15,700,000 32,000,000 
			 2006-07 35,400,000 40,500,000 75,900,000 
		
	
	Over the next five years UK Sport plans to invest approximately £508.6 million of Exchequer and lottery money in elite sport.
	Sport England provides some funding for English non-Olympic sports at elite level and, prior to April 2006, also provided elite funding to English Olympic sports. This funding was wholly from the lottery and was made via Sport England's world class programmes. This ran between1997 and 2005 and a total of £236,679,512 was provided over this period.
	Since 1 April 2005, Sport England's investment in national governing bodies (NGBs) has been made via whole sport or one stop plans. Between 2005 and 2009 Sport England estimates that £59 million will be distributed to support elite sport
	On 9 March Sport England launched its proposals for NGB investment between 2009 and 2013. This will determine future funding for non-Olympic elite sports.
	The plan is to have funding agreements in place by March 2008.
	Figures from Sport England show that the following capital amounts have been spent to build or refurbish elite sports facilities (defined for this purpose as the English institutes of sport and the national sports centres) over the period 02-03 to 06-07:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Exchequer funding  Lottery funding  Total 
			 2002-03 0 24,792,379 24,792,379 
			 2003-04 100,000 3,525,565 3,625,565 
			 2004-05 391,000 49,833,172 50,224,172 
			 2005-06 1,117,000 0 1,117,000 
			 2006-07 624,000 0 624,000 
		
	
	In addition, DCMS, Sport England and the London Development Agency have contributed £161 million (£120 million Lottery and £41 million Exchequer) towards the cost of the Wembley Stadium project which opened its doors for the first time on 17 March 2007; and Sport England and DCMS have contributed £11 million towards the cost of the Lee Valley athletics centre (£7 million lottery and £4 million Exchequer) which opened formally in January 2007.
	Sport England anticipates spending an additional £3 million in the period up to 2007-08 on the national sports centres.
	Funding on elite sports facilities beyond 2007-08 will be subject to the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review.
	UK Sport distributes lottery funding each year, through the world class events programme, to support NGBs' bidding and staging costs for major sporting events. Between 2002 and 2006 UK Sport invested £1.6 million a year in this programme. From 2007 it will be investing £3.3 million a year.
	The big lottery fund money has not allocated any funding to support elite sport.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Casinos

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on casino development in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: None. The legislation governing gambling in Northern Ireland, the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, does not permit facilities for high stakes gaming such as are provided by commercial gaming clubs (casinos) in Great Britain. A casino cannot, therefore, operate lawfully in Northern Ireland. There are no plans at present to change the law to allow casinos to operate in Northern Ireland.

Departments: Advertising

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the Department's total spending was on advertising and promotional campaigns in each year since 1997; and what the cost of each campaign was, broken down by costs relating to  (a) television,  (b) radio and  (c) print media.

David Hanson: Information on advertising campaign expenditure is not held centrally in the format requested. However the following tables show the information currently held on departmental advertising expenditure. This information is available for the past two financial years but is not broken down by campaign. A breakdown in relation to  (a) television,  (b) radio,  (c) print media and  (d) other is supplied in the following tables. Category  (d) includes other forms of advertising, for example outdoor advertising, cinema and online. The new Advertising Shared Service Centre, which becomes operational on 1 April, is currently developing a management information system to collate information on campaign and classified expenditure.
	
		
			  2005-06 
			  £ 
			   Television  Radio  Print  Other  Total 
			 Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister — — — — — 
			 Agriculture and Rural Development — 3,540 93,589 500 96,629 
			 Culture, Arts and Leisure — — 4,422 — 4,422 
			 Education — — — — — 
			 Employment and Learning 220,505 60,565 51,523 200,586 533,179 
			 Enterprise, Trade and Investment — — 26,747 40 26,787 
			 Environment 1,507,242 80,488 78,070 178,989 1,844,789 
			 Finance and Personnel — — — 234,797 234,797 
			 Health, Social Services and Public Safety 157,521 73,430 21,624 39,862 292,437 
			 Regional Development — — — — — 
			 Social Development — — — — — 
			 Northern Ireland Office 146,529 76,325 73,491 53,311 349,656 
		
	
	
		
			  2004-05 
			  £ 
			   Television  Radio  Print  Other  Total 
			 Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister 157,900 40,421 305 43,114 241,740 
			 Agriculture and Rural Development — — 141,317 36,600 177,917 
			 Culture, Arts and Leisure — — — — — 
			 Education 11,660 4,548 — — 16,208 
			 Employment and Learning 230,848 69,997 81,844 205,062 587,751 
			 Enterprise, Trade and Investment — 36,000 — 11,394 47,394 
			 Environment 1,433,926 79,556 58,815 67,303 1,639,600 
			 Finance and Personnel — — 60,999 100,348 161,347 
			 Health, Social Services and Public Safety 62,400 39,399 80,601 121,201 303,601 
			 Regional Development — — — — — 
			 Social Development — — 2,919 — 2,919 
			 Northern Ireland Office 46,849.00 30,380.00 156,052.05 34,443.00 267,724.05

Elderly People

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people aged 90 years or over were living in Northern Ireland in each year since 1995.

David Hanson: The following table gives the official estimates of the population of Northern Ireland of residents aged 90 years and over, from 1995 to 2005.
	
		
			  Northern Ireland mid-year population estimates for residents aged 90 years or over, 1995 to 2005 
			  Registration year  Persons aged 90 and over 
			 1995 6,500 
			 1996 6,900 
			 1997 7,000 
			 1998 7,300 
			 1999 7,300 
			 2000 7,200 
			 2001 7,300 
			 2002 7,400 
			 2003 7,500 
			 2004 8,000 
			 2005 8,300

Prisons: Drugs

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many drugs treatment programmes were in operation in each Northern Ireland prison in each of the last six years.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service has contracts with three voluntary support groups, one in each of the establishments, to provide counselling and education services to prisoners who have abused substances.
	The number of drug and/or alcohol misuse programmes provided is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2002-03 17 
			 2003-04 32 
			 2004-05 28 
			 2005-06 35 
			 2006-07 (to end February) 57 
			 Total 169 
		
	
	In addition there are very many counselling sessions with individual prisoners.

Roads: Bangor

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) fatal and  (b) non-fatal accidents occurred at Six Road Ends in Bangor in each of the past six years; and what assessment was made of the cause in each case.

Paul Goggins: I have been advised by the PSN1 that as there may be ongoing civil and criminal proceedings in respect of these collisions it is not possible to provide causation factors for each specific collision.
	Please see the following table detailing history of injury road traffic collisions at the Six Road Ends junction, Bangor, covering the period from 1 January 2001 through to 31 December 2006.
	
		
			  1 January to 31 December  Fatal collisions  Serious collisions  Slight collisions  All collisions  Killed  Seriously injured  Slightly injured  All casualties 
			 2001 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 
			 2002 1 0 1 2 1 4 1 6 
			 2003 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 
			 2004 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 
			 2005 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 
			 2006 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 3 
			  Notes:  1. 2006 figures are provisional and subject to amendment.  2. Please note that collisions that occur at or within 50 metres of this junction are included.  3. Due to ongoing validation, this information may be subject to change.   Source:  Central Statistics Unit, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Lisnasharragh.

Universities: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total costs associated with building a new university on the Springvale site have been to date.

Maria Eagle: Springvale was to be a joint project, between the University of Ulster (UU) and the Belfast Institute, for a main campus, a community outreach centre and an applied research centre on a split site on the Springfield road. £9.2 million has been spent to date—£0.9 million from Government, £6 million from external sources and the remainder from the two institutions. The outreach centre has been built but, following the withdrawal of UU, the other two elements will not proceed. The Belfast Institute brought forward an alternative proposal for a workforce and economic development centre, to be located adjacent to the community outreach centre. This proposal received ministerial approval at April 2006 and, when delivered, will complete the regeneration of the south site.

Valuation and Lands Agency

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for how long the Valuation and Lands Agency has used pictometry techniques for valuations of domestic property.

David Hanson: The Valuation and Lands Agency has never used pictometry techniques for valuations of domestic property.

Valuation and Lands Agency

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which councils in Northern Ireland are willing to engage in the Valuation and Land Agency or Land and Property Services Agency's building control project.

David Hanson: To date Belfast city council is the only council currently engaged in the Valuation and Lands Agency/Land and Property Services Agency's Building control project.

Valuation and Lands Agency

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what advice the Valuation and Land Agency or Land and Property Services Agency has sought from  (a) the Information Commission and  (b) legal experts on the use of oblique aerial photography for valuation purposes.

David Hanson: Valuation and Lands Agency/Land and Property Services Agency has not sought advice from  (a) the Information Commissioner and  (b) has had preliminary discussions with legal advisers on the use of oblique aerial photographs for valuation purposes.

Valuation and Lands Agency

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information Belfast city council is providing to the Valuation and Lands Agency or Land and Property Services Agency as part of the building control project; and whether this includes the provision of photographs.

David Hanson: As part of the building control project, Belfast city council provides the Valuation and Lands Agency/Land and Property Services with full survey details on new and altered properties. This generally includes a digital photograph of the front elevation of the property.

Valuation and Lands Agency

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what use the  (a) Valuation and Lands Agency and  (b) Land and Property Services Agency is (i) making and (ii) planning to make of fee code segmentation data to determine value significance.

David Hanson: The Valuation and Lands Agency/Land and Property Services Agency are (i) not currently making use of fee code segmentation data to determine value significant alterations to properties for rating purposes, but (ii) may consider the use of these data in the future.

Victims Commissioner

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applicants there were for the post of Victims Commissioner in Northern Ireland, broken down by  (a) gender and  (b) religious affiliation; and how many applicants were (i) shortlisted and (ii) interviewed in each category.

David Hanson: Out of the 46 applicants for the post of Commissioner for Victims and Survivors for Northern Ireland:
	 (a) There were 24 male and 22 female applicants.
	 (b) 29 were from a protestant community background, 21 from a Roman Catholic community background and six other.
	14 were shortlisted for interview. One candidate (female and from a Roman Catholic community background) withdrew from the competition prior to the interviews being conducted, resulting in 13 candidates being interviewed.
	Of those interviewed six were male and seven were female. Eight were from a Protestant community background, four from a Roman Catholic community background and there was one other.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Detainees

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations her Department has made to the US to ensure the safe return of former residents of  (a) the UK and  (b) UK overseas territories being held at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay.

Kim Howells: The Government are not in a position to provide consular or diplomatic protection to non-British nationals, including those detainees in Guantanamo Bay, who were formerly resident in the UK or UK overseas territories.
	However, we agreed in March 2006 to make representations to the US government for the release of Mr. Bisher al-Rawi, an Iraqi national formerly resident in the UK, from Guantanamo Bay and his return to the UK. That decision was based on the particular circumstances in his case. On 6 April 2006, my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Mr. Straw) wrote to the US Secretary of State to ask formally for Mr. al-Rawi's release and return. Detailed discussions between our Governments have continued ever since. While these are sensitive and complicated issues that take time, we are fully committed to securing Mr. al-Rawi's release from Guantanamo Bay and his return to the UK.
	The Government continue to raise humanitarian concerns about detentions at Guantanamo Bay with the US authorities, including issues relating to detainees who were formerly resident in the UK.

Africa: Drugs

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of action taken to stop the trafficking of narcotics across African borders.

Kim Howells: East and west Africa is increasingly being used as a transit route for cocaine and heroin from Latin America and Asia to European and other western markets. We have supported counter narcotics capacity building projects with local law enforcement agencies in Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia and Senegal to improve interdiction through the provision of training and equipment.
	While significant challenges remain, our assistance is starting to have some impact in the region. In 2006 the Kenyan authorities destroyed over one ton of cocaine from an earlier seizure. In Ghana, drugs interdiction training and equipment at Accra International airport (Operation Westbridge) has achieved some good success interdicting cocaine couriers, since the start of its operation in November 2006. As at 21 March 2007, 40 couriers destined for the UK or Europe had been interdicted with seizures of 130 kg of cocaine and 413 kg of cannabis, with an estimated UK street value of £8.5 million. This progress proves the importance of supporting good law enforcement co-operation coupled with training on interdiction techniques.

Ascension Island

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her assessment is of relations between Ascension Islanders and the Island administrator.

Geoff Hoon: The administrator of Ascension Island has a good professional relationship with those living and working on the Island. That relationship is promoted through regular formal and informal meetings.

Ascension Island

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what provisions have been made to hold elections to replace the Ascension Island councillors who have recently resigned.

Geoff Hoon: The Island Council (Ascension) Ordinance lays down the procedure for holding elections. Six out of a total of seven councillors have recently resigned just a little under half-way through a three year tenure. The acting governor of St. Helena and its Dependencies, as acting governor of Ascension, in consultation with the substantive governor and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, is currently considering urgently whether in these circumstances a by-election should be held or the council should be dissolved so that a general election should take place.

Ascension Island

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Ministers from her Department visited Ascension Island in each year since 1997; and what the  (a) duration and  (b) purpose was of each visit.

Geoff Hoon: My hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Bill Rammell) transited Ascension Island on 26 November 2003 en route to the Falkland Islands. During his visit, he had the opportunity to meet the Ascension Island councillors. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, was prevented from visiting Ascension Island on 15 December 2006 by bad weather. He had scheduled meetings with the Ascension Island councillors.

Ascension Island

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in providing permanent rights of  (a) abode and  (b) property ownership to residents of Ascension Island.

Geoff Hoon: After having weighed carefully the aspirations of those working and living on Ascension Island against the risk that a settled community might not be economically viable, the Government concluded that the UK would face unacceptable risks if the right of abode were granted and further development of property rights permitted. This decision was conveyed to the Ascension Island Council in my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham's letter of 19 January 2006.

Ascension Island

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has received from the United States government on providing  (a) permanent rights of abode and  (b) property ownership rights to residents of Ascension Island.

Geoff Hoon: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has received no representations from the US Administration on providing permanent right of abode and property ownership rights to residents of Ascension Island.

Cambodia: Administration of Justice

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the independence from the political process of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia trying suspects accused of serious crimes under the Khmer Rouge regime.

Kim Howells: The Government support an independent, UN-supported tribunal that will help strengthen accountability, the rule of law and judicial reform in present day Cambodia as well as hold to account those suspected of being most responsible for the serious crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge period. We, and other interested states, continue to encourage all parties to work together to ensure the credibility and success of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. We are monitoring developments at the tribunal closely.

Cameroon

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made by the High Commission in Yaoundé on the arrest and detention of Dr. Nfor Ngala Nfor and other members of the Southern Cameroon National Council in Bamenda.

Ian McCartney: Our high commission in Yaounde has not made any representations to the Cameroon authorities regarding this incident. However, since learning of the arrest and detention of 11 Southern Cameroon National Council members, including Dr. Nfor Ngala Nfor, the high commission in Yaounde has been in contact with the National Human Rights Commission and Freedoms representative in Bamenda. That representative has met with Dr. Nfor at the prison, who confirmed that their health situation was good and they were being detained under normal Cameroon prison conditions, including having access to their legal counsel and families.
	Ten of the 11 detainees including, Dr. Nfor Ngala Nfor, were released on bail on 14 March. Hearings on preliminary investigation into the arrests have been scheduled for 17 April. The high commission will continue to follow the case.

China

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the compliance by China, in respect of its occupation of Tibet, with Article 49 paragraph six of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 23 March 2007
	 The Government have not made any assessment of the situation in Tibet in relation to paragraph six, Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. Successive Governments have regarded Tibet as autonomous while recognising the special position of the Chinese authorities there. We encourage the Chinese Government to put history aside and move towards a solution to the present problems in Tibet, doing so most recently at the latest round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in London on 5 February. We continue to urge China to engage in dialogue with representatives of the Dalai Lama, without preconditions.

Egypt: Politics and Government

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her Department's assessment is of the democratic process in Egypt.

Kim Howells: holding answer 22 March 2007
	 The Egyptian Government have committed to a process of political reform. In recent years some important reforms have taken place. The constitution was amended in 2005 to allow multi-candidate presidential elections to be held for the first time. Domestic monitors were allowed to observe parliamentary and presidential elections for the first time in 2005. In December 2006, President Mubarak announced further constitutional amendments; these will be voted on in a referendum today. The President has also committed to ending the state of emergency by May 2008.
	There is scope for further progress in enhancing the transparency and independence of the electoral system, as well as increasing the participation of women in the political process. We will continue to monitor the implementation of the reforms and the constitutional amendments. We will also continue to work with Egypt to promote democracy and human rights.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made on the raids of 23 and 25 February 2007 by US and Iraqi forces on the head offices of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers; what reports she has received on the damage caused; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We have made no representations on this matter. We are aware of the raids on the offices of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers. These were carried out by Iraqi security forces with the backing of multi-national forces as part of ongoing security operations—several other offices and institutions have also been subject to similar operations. We strongly support the Iraqi Government's efforts to improve security, which are essential to improving the situation across the whole country.

Nuclear Weapons

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria the Government use when formulating policy of opposing or supporting development of nuclear capability by other states.

Kim Howells: The Government are bound by their commitment under article IV of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to be supportive of the development of peaceful nuclear technology by all states party to the treaty. The state party concerned must, of course, be in compliance with its treaty obligations, particularly those under articles I and II, but also under article III, to be the beneficiary of such support.
	Policy towards those not in compliance with their treaty, or International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, obligations is formulated case by case.

Pakistan: Entry Clearances

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether HM High Commission, Islamabad, has received the decision papers from the Immigration Appeals Tribunal in respect of cases VA/08797/2006, VA/08788/2006 and VA/08793/2006 concerning Mr F. A., Mrs R. B. and Miss M. M., relatives of Mrs N. S. of Aylesbury.

Kim Howells: The determinations in respect of the cases of Mr. F A, Mrs. R. B. and Miss M. M. were received in our High Commission in Islamabad in October and November 2006. These cases were part of the backlog of allowed appeal cases, but the papers have now been linked with their files and passed to a casework officer for a brief review before the applicants are contacted and invited to submit their passports so that their visas can be issued.
	The Visa Section in Islamabad aim for this to be done within the next week.

Pakistan: Entry Clearances

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many refused immigration applications are awaiting review by entry clearance managers at HM High Commission, Islamabad.

Kim Howells: All refused applications are reviewed by an entry clearance manager within 24 hours.

Pakistan: Religious Persons

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many imams were granted entry clearance from Pakistan to carry out religious duties in the UK in each year since 1995.

Kim Howells: The information requested by my hon. Friend is listed as follows:
	
		
			  Visas granted to Imams from Pakistan 1995-2006 
			   Number 
			 1995-97 0 
			 1998 33 
			 1999 25 
			 2000 31 
			 2001 134 
			 2002 46 
			 2003 40 
			 2004 68 
			 2005 22 
			 2006 23 
			 Total 422

Paramjeet Singh

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has received on the case of Mr Paramjeet Singh, arrested in India on 23 December 2006; and what action she has taken following Paramjeet Singh's arrest.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received a number of letters from hon. Members about Mr. Singh's case.
	Officials from our High Commission in New Delhi sought consular access as soon as we were notified of his arrest. We visited Mr. Singh in prison on 30 December 2006 and again on 22 February. We will continue to provide Mr. Singh and his family with appropriate consular assistance.

Saudi Arabia

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she last met her counterpart in Saudi Arabia.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last met Prince Saud, her Saudi counterpart, in Paris on 25 January.

Saudi Arabia

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with her counterpart in Saudi Arabia.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last spoke to Prince Saud, the Saudi Foreign Minister, on 21 March. They discussed regional issues related to the forthcoming Arab League Summit in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she plans to visit Saudi Arabia in the near future.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary had planned to visit Saudi Arabia from 21-22 March. However, because of preparations for the Arab League summit next week, it was agreed that the visit should be postponed. We hope that the visit will be reinstated soon.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Community Court Schemes

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the Community Court schemes in Salford and Liverpool.

Harriet Harman: Both the Liverpool and Salford Community Justice schemes have been undergoing extensive quantative and qualitative evaluations. It is anticipated that the final reports will be published in May. Community justice makes a key contribution to the Government's Respect Action Plan, which was published in January 2006. It aims to strengthen the links between the courts, the criminal justice system and the local community so that local people's confidence in the work of the courts and the wider criminal justice system increases. As the Lord Chancellor said in his written ministerial statement of 27 November 2006, the Government are now establishing 10 further community justice initiatives. The aim of this next phase of community justice work is to provide further learning and best practice so that in the long term the principles of community justice are applied in the courts and the criminal justice system throughout England and Wales.

Community Court Schemes

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the most recent re-offending rates are in England and Wales; and what the re-offending rates have been from the Community Court schemes in Salford and Liverpool.

Harriet Harman: Figures from November 2006 from the Home Office put the most recent re-offending rate for England and Wales at 57.6 per cent. This is measured for adult offenders over two years following the date of release from prison or sentence to a community order. Since it is less than two years since the launch of both Liverpool and Salford, these figures are not yet available.

Community Court Schemes

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the most recent attendance rate by the accused at court is in England and Wales; and what the rate has been at the Community Court schemes in Salford and Liverpool.

Harriet Harman: The Home Office Criminal Statistics Bulletin 2005 states that, nationally, 8 per cent. of adult defendants fail to appear in the magistrates court. Figures for 2006 are not yet available. Figures for the Community Justice Centre in Liverpool, which opened in September 2005, show that in 2006, 20 per cent. of adult and 15 per cent. of youth offenders failed to attend court. The Liverpool Community Justice Centre has a different caseload, however, to a normal magistrates court and also sits as a Crown court. These figures are not collected at Salford magistrates court.

Coroners: Armed Forces

Robert Key: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to transfer funds from HM Coroner for Oxfordshire to HM Coroner for Wiltshire following the decision to transfer cases of multiple military deaths overseas from RAF Brize Norton to RAF Lyneham; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The exceptional funds provided to the Oxfordshire coroner were to clear a backlog of inquests which had developed. I will continue to regularly review progress regarding these inquests.

Coroners: Armed Forces

Robert Key: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what new arrangements she plans to make to fund HM Coroners following her decision to transfer responsibility for coroners inquests from Oxfordshire to the home counties of individual deceased military personnel; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: I will reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Coroners: Armed Forces

Robert Key: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the additional costs falling on HM Coroner for Wiltshire arising from the transfer of cases of multiple military deaths overseas from Oxfordshire to Wiltshire.

Harriet Harman: We have no costings for the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner handling potential multiple inquests of fatalities repatriated to RAF Lyneham.

Coroners: Armed Forces

James Gray: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many military inquests were conducted in  (a) Oxfordshire and  (b) Wiltshire in each of the last five years.

Harriet Harman: We are seeking the relevant information from the Oxfordshire coroner. The Wiltshire coroner's office has advised that five military inquests were held in 2002, eight were held in 2003 (of which one remains outstanding), none in 2004, six in 2005 and two in 2006.

Coroners: Armed Forces

James Gray: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what extra funding and staffing has been given to the Oxfordshire Coroner to assist with the cost of military inquests incurred due to the use of RAF Brize Norton for the repatriation of bodies; and what additional resources will be given to the Wiltshire Coroner when those duties are transferred to RAF Lyneham on 1 April.

Harriet Harman: To clear the backlog of military inquests the Oxfordshire coroner has been provided with the funding authority to employ three additional assistant deputy coroners, three additional coroner's officers, one additional administrative officer and recording equipment to enable two courts to run simultaneously. To date, the Department for Constitutional Affairs has received invoices totalling £115,000 for this additional resource. It is not planned to provide additional resources to the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner who we understand intends to transfer as many of the military inquests as he can to the coroners nearest to the bereaved family. I will continue to regularly review the progress of military inquests.

Courts: Security

Ben Wallace: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what funding her Department provided for security in courts in each year since 2001.

Harriet Harman: Between 2001 and the creation of Her Majesty's Courts Service in 2005 my Department provided funding, either directly or as capital grant or resource funding, to all courts in England and Wales. Due to the nature of this allocation method, to determine what funding was provided for security in courts for each year would incur a disproportionate cost.
	Post 2005, all budgets were and continue to be devolved to the seven regions which comprise Her Majesty's Courts Service and funding for security is not recorded separately. To extract security costs from the general planned maintenance budget and other provisions in courts in England and Wales would incur a disproportionate cost to collate.

Courts: Security

Ben Wallace: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department has taken to improve security at courts in England and Wales since 2001.

Harriet Harman: My Department continually reviews the security arrangements at courts in England and Wales to ensure that appropriate security measures are in place. Since 2001, my Department has sought to ensure that those measures achieve and continue to achieve the necessary levels of protection through a process of risk management.

Courts: Security

Ben Wallace: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many security staff are employed at  (a) High Court premises and  (b) Crown court premises in England and Wales.

Harriet Harman: My Department currently employ 60 security staff in the High Court and 306 in Crown courts throughout England and Wales. To ensure that there is no double counting, a separate figure has not been provided for locations when a High Court judge is on circuit, as they sit in existing Crown high court locations.

Courts: Security

Ben Wallace: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment has been made of security arrangements at courts in England and Wales following recent bombings of courts sittings in terrorism trials in Pakistan.

Harriet Harman: Her Majesty's Courts Service, an Executive Agency of the Department for Constitutional Affairs, continually review the security arrangements of courts in England and Wales. The risks posed to all court buildings, staff and court users are assessed to ensure that appropriate measures are in place and that those measures are achieving the correct levels of protection through a process of risk management.

Departments: Advertising

Michael Penning: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the Department's total spending was on advertising and promotional campaigns in each year since 1997; and what the cost of each campaign was, broken down by costs relating to  (a) television,  (b) radio and  (c) print media.

Harriet Harman: Since its inception in June 2003, the Department for Constitutional Affairs has conducted the following advertising:
	a regional poster campaign on buses to promote recruitment to the lay magistracy
	a national campaign to promote recruitment to the lay magistracy
	radio and press adverts to target court fine defaulters (under the title Operation Payback)
	press adverts to promote voting fraud prevention
	invitations in the legal press to comment on Lord Carter's Review of Legal Aid Procurement
	a campaign in London to encourage voter registration by 18 to 24-year-olds
	My Department has not conducted any television advertising since June 2003.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Project  Radio  Press/poster 
			 2003-04 Operation Payback (Phase 1) 79,000 133,000 
			  Magistrate recruitment — 431,000 
			 
			 2004-05 Operation Payback (Phase 2) 95,000 164,000 
			  Magistrate recruitment — 124,000 
			 
			 2005-06 Postal voting — 188,000 
			  Magistrate recruitment 107,000 522,000 
			  Operation Payback (Phase 3) 2006 94,000 158,000 
			  Lord Carter's Review of Legal Aid Procurement — 24,000 
			  Voter registration 62,000 — 
			 
			 2006-07 Operation Payback (Phase 4) — 21,000 
			  Magistrate recruitment 8,617 62,000

Departments: Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much her Department spent on  (a) sponsoring newspaper or publication supplements and  (b) funding advertorials in newspapers and other publications in the last year for which figures are available; and what the topic was of each.

Harriet Harman: For the period March 2006 to March 2007 my Department placed the following advertorials:
	In November 2006 an advertorial was placed in Media Today to help raise awareness of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 among health and social care practitioners. The cost for this was £204.

Departments: Trade Unions

Theresa May: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many meetings  (a) she and  (b) her Department's Ministers held with trade union representatives in 2006.

Harriet Harman: During 2006  (a) I held two meetings with trade union representatives;  (b) other Ministers in my Department held 13 meetings with trade union representatives, as set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Lord Falconer (1)5 
			 Baroness Ashton (1)1 
			 Vera Baird 0 
			 Bridget Prentice (1)10 
			 (1) Two meetings with union representatives were held jointly by Lord Falconer and Bridget Prentice and one jointly by Lord Falconer and Baroness Ashton.

Gender Recognition Act 2004

Lynne Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether criminal actions under section 22 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 can be pursued for any period, so long as evidence still exists.

Vera Baird: No. Disclosure of protected information under section 22 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 is a summary offence. The relevant time limit is set out in section 127 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980. Under that section, a court can only deal with an alleged offence if a complaint or information is submitted to the relevant authorities within six months of the event that gave rise to it.

Legal Aid

Harry Cohen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment the Government have made of the effect on those  (a) affected by domestic violence and  (b) on low incomes of the proposed changes to legal aid arrangements; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: Domestic violence is a cross-Government priority and formalised through the formation of the Inter-Ministerial Group for Domestic Violence. The Group comprises of Ministers from nine Government Departments and the three devolved administrations. In light of the assessments and priority need, the group prepares an Annual Delivery Plan and reports against progress each year. The report for 2006-07 will be published shortly together with the Delivery Plan for 2007-08.
	Domestic Violence proceedings are a priority area for legal aid funding. The Legal Services Commission's (LSC's) Funding Code Criteria for domestic violence cases are wider than for most other family and non-family areas; they are not limited to any specific definition of domestic violence or abuse. When appearing in a family court, persons of limited means will be funded in all but the most exceptional of circumstances. As a separate measure to the wider programme of legal aid reform as set out in "Legal Aid Reform: The Way Ahead" the financial eligibility limits for legal aid for domestic violence victims will be raised and both income and capital limits will be able to waived, by the LSC, on a discretionary basis from 9 April 2007. In criminal proceedings, the Crown Prosecution Service represents the victim of domestic violence.

Miscarriages of Justice: Family Courts

John Hemming: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  which Minister would be responsible for assessing whether systemic miscarriages of justice were occurring in the family courts;
	(2)  if she will establish a review of family court cases where Dr. David Southall retained a special case file.

Harriet Harman: My right hon. Friend The Lord Chancellor is responsible for supporting the efficient and effective administration of the courts. The judiciary is primarily responsible for guarding against miscarriages of justice and they are entirely independent of the executive. It is open to the parties in an individual case to seek legal advice about the route to appeal if they are dissatisfied with the outcome of the case.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has inquiry-ordering powers in relation to the exercise by local authorities of their children's services functions. In 2004, a review of cases that were before the family courts, and of children for whom the courts have made care orders (under section 31 of the Children Act 1989) was undertaken by local authorities at the request of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, the results of which were reported to Parliament. There are currently no plans to conduct a review of family court cases in which Dr. David Southall has been involved.

National Archives

Dai Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact on delivery of services to researchers of the reduction in support for the National Archive.

Vera Baird: The National Archives measures the delivery of its services against published key performance indicators. At this point in the performance year, the National Archives is meeting all of its published targets relating to the delivery of services to researchers, of which the principal measure is customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction with services provided at Kew and at the Family Records Centre in Islington is currently running at 95 per cent. against a target of 90 per cent.

Voting

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  whether an individual will be entitled to refuse to provide the personal identifier details in the event that the Government introduces personal identification in polling stations pursuant to the Electoral Administration Act 2006; and whether that individual would be entitled to receive a ballot paper and vote in such circumstances;
	(2)  whether she plans that an individual will have to provide his or her signature in a polling station before voting.

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to my previous answer of 31 January 2007,  Official Report, column 336W.

Voting

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the reasons are for the differences in the procedures in relation to personal identifiers for those that vote by post and those who vote in person at a polling station.

Bridget Prentice: The Electoral Administration Act, as approved by Parliament, provides for a polling station voter to provide a signature, while a postal voter must provide both a signature and date of birth. The greater level of security applied to postal voting addresses concerns about the security of postal voting.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Academy: Isle of Sheppey

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding Kent county council is providing for the proposed Academy on the Isle of Sheppey.

Jim Knight: holding answer 2 February 2007
	 Kent county council has made a public commitment to provide £1 million sponsorship towards the proposed Academy on Sheppey. Any additional funding required will be identified as the Academy proposals develop.

Act of Union

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in what ways the 300(th )Anniversary of the Act of Union between England and Scotland will be officially commemorated in events and activities in English schools.

Jim Knight: The Department considers it important that schools have autonomy to plan their own timetables, including the commemoration of significant events. The current curricula for both Citizenship and History provide opportunities for schools to discuss the Act of Union. For instance, the statutory Citizenship curriculum for all secondary schools requires that pupils be taught about the origins and implications of the diverse national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom and the work of parliament and government.

Admissions

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many admissions appeals were heard for pupils in the Peterborough Local Education Authority in each year since 1997; how many were successful; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 23 March 2007
	The information requested is shown in the table, as reported by schools and local authorities.
	
		
			  Appeals lodged by parents against non-admission of their children to maintained primary and secondary schools 1997/98 to 2004/05, Peterborough local authority area 
			   Primary  Secondary 
			Appeals heard  Appeals decided in parent's favour   Appeals heard  Appeals decided in parent's favour 
			   Number of appeals lodged  No .  %( 1)  No .  %( 2)  Number of appeals lodged  No .  %( 1)  No .  %( 2) 
			 1997/98 96 90 93.8 44 48.9 146 131 89.7 59 45.0 
			 1998/99 153 112 73.2 43 38.4 181 157 86.7 63 40.1 
			 1999/2000 101 58 57.4 18 31.0 190 163 85.8 65 39.9 
			 2000/01 101 65 64.4 30 46.2 167 147 88.0 59 40.1 
			 2001/02 94 60 63.8 25 41.7 257 235 91.4 93 39.6 
			 2002/03 58 42 72.4 14 33.3 139 125 89.9 27 21.6 
			 2003/04 86 60 69.8 29 48.3 154 140 90.9 47 33.6 
			 2004/05 74 46 62.2 20 43.5 213 188 88.3 58 30.9 
			 (1) Number of appeals heard by a panel expressed as a percentage of the number of appeals lodged by parents.  (2) Number of appeals decided in parents' favour expressed as a percentage of the number of appeals heard by a panel.   Source:  Admission Appeals Survey and the Annual Schools Census.

Apprentices

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many people in  (a) apprenticeships and  (b) advanced apprenticeships (i) were participating in a programme-led apprenticeship and (ii) had successfully completed the full framework of a programme-led apprenticeship in each year since the inception of programme-led apprenticeships;
	(2)  what the non-completion rate was for  (a) programme-led apprenticeships,  (b) programme-led advanced apprenticeships,  (c) non-programme-led apprenticeships and  (d) non-programme-led advanced apprenticeships in each year since the inception of programme-led apprenticeships.

Phil Hope: Figures for those participating in apprenticeships funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) can be derived from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR). The work-based learning (WBL) ILR was collated as an interim collection for the first time in 2001/02 and figures are presented from that time.
	The programme-led pathway (PLP) is an initiative to enable more learners to enter an employed status apprenticeship programme. When they achieve their agreed goals, learners cease to be on a PLP and then become mainstream apprentices. Learners could start their pathway in WBL or FE (completing their non-employed learning). Once they attain employed status they will transfer to mainstream WBL.
	It is possible to calculate participation for programme-led apprenticeships from the ILR data, but because it is difficult to accurately identify learners in mainstream WBL who started on a pathway, progression onto mainstream apprenticeships cannot be accurately calculated. The concept of framework achievement is not appropriate for programme-led pathways because an apprenticeship can only be completed in full, in employment. As the programme-led phase is not employment, learners on this pathway can only ever finish part of the framework.
	Non-completion is not a standard measure for apprenticeships. (A learner could complete all of their learning but not gain achievement.) One measure of performance is the success rate, which is calculated as the number of leavers who either meet all of the requirements of their apprenticeship framework, or achieve an NVQ required by the framework, divided by the number of learners who have either left training or successfully completed their programme.
	The following table shows the success rate for apprenticeship courses on an annual basis.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  England  Advanced apprenticeship success rate  Apprenticeship success rate 
			 2001/02 26 22 
			 2002/03 32 24 
			 2003/04 32 30 
			 2004/05 38 40 
		
	
	In order to successfully complete an apprenticeship the learner must achieve each element required by their particular framework; that would include an NVQ, Key Skills and any other required qualification.

Apprentices

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1249W, on apprentices, how many and what proportion of  (a) apprenticeships and  (b) advanced apprenticeships had (i) a separately assessed off-the-job technical certificate and (ii) their technical qualification integrated into the delivery and assessment of the National Vocational Qualifications in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: holding answer 21 March 2007
	Data on Apprenticeships and Advanced Apprenticeships are collected on the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) Individualised Learner Record (ILR). This can record all of the individual learning aims that an Apprentice is undertaking as part of the framework, including those identified as separate technical certificates. However, we are unable to identify whether an Apprenticeship framework without a technical certificate is because  (a) the learning is integrated into the delivery and assessment of the NVQ; or  (b) the learner has previously achieved this qualification.

Children's Centres: Greater London

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the criteria were for approving children's centres in Kensington and Chelsea; and in what locations in the borough he expects children's centres to be operational by 2008.

Beverley Hughes: There are currently four Sure Start Children's Centres in Kensington and Chelsea. Approval for the designation of centres operating in the most disadvantaged areas of England is given when the following criteria are met: centres are open five days a week, ten hours a day, 48 weeks a year; integrated care and learning is available for children under five, with the support of at least half the time of a qualified teacher; links with Jobcentre Plus are agreed; and plans are in place to provide health, family support and outreach services within an agreed geographical area.
	Kensington and Chelsea have not yet finalised the locations for their children's centres for phase 2 of the programme (2006-08). This information will be submitted to the Department in the next few weeks following further negotiations with local providers. The Department's chosen delivery partner, Together for Children, is working very closely with the local authority to ensure that appropriate high quality Sure Start services are delivered within the borough.

City Academies: Darwen

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects to be able to announce the name chosen for the new academy in Darwen.

Jim Knight: The Darwen Academy project is currently in the feasibility stage, which is expected to last until autumn this year. Once this is complete and the funding agreement has been signed we will be able to announce details for this academy. It is not the Department's normal practice to announce formally the name of academies but I can confirm that the project is known locally as the Darwen Aldridge Community Academy.

City Academies: Pay

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which academies run a system of performance-related pay for their staff.

Jim Knight: The Department does not hold details of which academies run a system of performance related pay for their staff.

Departments: Advertising

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Department's total spending was on advertising and promotional campaigns in each year since 1997; and what the cost of each campaign was, broken down by costs relating to  (a) television,  (b) radio and  (c) print media.

Alan Johnson: The Department's total spend on advertising campaigns since 1997 has been:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1997-98 9,992,000 
			 1998-99 15,673,000 
			 1999-2000 11,900,000 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide a breakdown of campaigns before 2000.
	
		
			  Campaign  £ 
			  2000-01  
			 Don't Quit Now 2,700,000 
			 New deal 50 plus 2,400,000 
			 ICT Employability 2,011,000 
			 Childcare Recruitment 1,821,000 
			 Parent's Magazine 1,484,000 
			 Disability Discrimination 1,242,000 
			 Fast Track Teachers 1,056,000 
			 Modern Apprenticeships 856,000 
			 Individual Learning Accounts 612,000 
			  29,110,000 
			  2001-02  
			 Adult Basic Skills 'Get on' 5,096,143 
			 Childcare recruitment 2,504,000 
			 Science Year 2001/02 1,803,000 
			 Excellence Challenge 1,750,000 
			 Modem Apprenticeships 1,670,000 
			 Foundation Degree 1,325,000 
			 Fast Track Teachers 1,250,000 
			 Millennium Volunteers 848,000 
			 Parents' Magazine 770,000 
			 New Deal 25+ 633,000 
			  17,665,000 
			  2002-03  
			 Adult Basic Skills 5,478,117 
			 Childcare Recruitment 2,741,377 
			 Aim Higher 2,649,999 
			 Connexions 1,320,331 
			 HE Funding 655,000 
			 Foundation Degree 549,397 
			  13,790,000 
			  2003-04  
			 Adult Basic Skills 6,672,938 
			 Aim Higher 4,190,018 
			 Childcare Recruitment 2,986,659 
			 Foundation Degrees 2,813,787 
			 Connexions 2,608,005 
			  20,170,000 
		
	
	
		
			  2004-05 
			  £ 
			   Press budget national  Press budget regional  TV air time  Radio air time  Total 
			 EMA 2004/05 679,169 — 995,627 320,137 1,994,933 
			 Sure Start Month 2004/05 127,002 — — — 127,002 
			 Adult Basic Skills Gremlins 2004/05 269,980 309,773 2,940,663 726,321 4,246,737 
			 Teenage Pregnancy (DFES) 2004/05 19,130 — — 960,997 980,127 
			 Student Finance 2004/05 183,136 — — 684,236 867,372 
			 DFES Classified/Recruitment Advertising 2004/05 31,434 — — — 31,434 
			 EMA Summer Activity 2004/05 136,317 — — 97,950 234,267 
			 Fast Track Teaching 2004/05 69,342 — — — 69,342 
			 Foundation Degrees 2004/05 — — — 483,463 483,463 
			 DFES Childcare 2004/05 — 281,269 — — 281,269 
			 EMA (February to March) 2004/05 579,272 149,726 244,994 350,342 1,324,334 
			 Need to Know 2004/05 — — — 275,116 275,116 
			 DFES Parents Centre 2004/05 172,284 — — — 172,284 
			  2,267,066 740,768 4,181,284 3,898,562 11,087,680 
		
	
	
		
			  2005-06 
			  £ 
			   Press budget national  Press budget regional  TV air time  Radio air time  Total 
			 DFES Sure Start 2005/06 2,527 — —  2,527 
			 EMA 2005/06 170,803 — 785,980 304,526 1,261,309 
			 Teenage Pregnancy 2005/06 143,155 — 400,390 537,859 1,081,404 
			 Childcare Recruitment 05/06 — 288,672 — 302,086 590,758 
			 DFES Adult Basic Skills—Gremlins 2005/06 — — 1,237,864 206,596 1,444,460 
			 DFES Adult Basic Skills—Gremlins Miscellaneous 2005/06 125,687 — — — 125,687 
			 Student Finance 2005/06 196,158 — 1,400,455 460,172 2,056,785 
			 DFES Parents Centre 2005/06 142,771 — — — 142,771 
			 ECM Press Advertising 2005/06 1,984 — — — 1,984 
			 Foundation Degrees 2005/06 412,942 — — 221,412 634,354 
			 Fast Track Teaching 2005/06 17,806 — — — 17,806 
			 DFES Parenting Franchise (Direct Gov Launch) 2005/06 292,565 — — 147,313 439,878 
			 DFES Education and Learning—Launch Campaign 2005/06 — — — 85,479 85,479 
			 Need to Know 2005/06 — — — 53,971 53,971 
			  1,506,398 288,672 3,824,690 2,319,515 7,939,275

Departments: Consultation Papers

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the  (a) title,  (b) date of issue and  (c) consultation period was of each document issued for limited consultation by his Department in each year since 2003.

Jim Knight: The Department for Education and Skills Consultation Unit records show that 45 documents for limited consultation were issued between 1 January 2003 and 12 March 2007.
	The following table shows the breakdown for each year, with the title, date of issue and length of consultation period.
	
		
			  Title  Date of issue  Period (weeks) 
			  2003   
			 Draft order for Foundation Stage Part of National Curriculum 2 December 2002 to 16 January 2003 6 
			 Draft Regulations for Consistent Financial Reporting 16 December 2002 to 31 January 2003 6 
			 Consultation on School Organisation Planning and Decision Making 4 February 2003 to 11 April 2003 9 
			 Construction Industry Training Board Quinquennial Review 24 March 2003 to 16 May 2003 7 
			 Engineering Construction Industry Training Board Quinquennial Review 24 March 2003 to 16 May 2003 7 
			 Consultation on the Publication of School and College Performance Tables 10 April 2003 to 12 June 2003 5 
			 Consultation on the Education (School Teachers' Qualifications)(England) Regulations 2003 10 April 2003 to 16 May 2003 5 
			 Consultation on Proposed Changes to the Key Stage 4 Curriculum 12 May 2003 to 18 July 2003 10 
			 Consultation on proposed changes to the Consistent Financial Reporting Framework 14 May 2003 to 20 June 2003 9 
			 Technical Consultation—Mandatory National Professional Qualification for Headship Regulations and Guidance 16 May 2003 to 7 July 2003 7 
			 Performance Data Framework for Local Education Authorities 4 June 2003 to 18 July 2003 6 
			 Review of Childcare Standards and Regulations 9 June 2003 to 18 July 2003 5 
			 Draft regulations and guidance on School Governance Federation and Collaborations 18 June 2003 to 18 July 2003 4 
			 Consultation on the Proposal for London Student Pledge 20 June 2003 to 30 July 2003 6 
			 Consultation on Interim Executive Board Regulations 30 June 2003 to 26 September 2003 12 
			 Consultation on the Re-Enactment of the Health Standards Provisions of the Education (Teachers' Qualifications and Health Standards) (England) Regulations 1999 21 October 2003 to 21 November 2003 4 
			 Consultation on the Education-Related Provisions included in the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill 3 October 2003 to 22 December 2003 11 
			
			  2004   
			 Consultation on Implementing the Financial Management Standard and Toolkit 18 December 2003 to 16 February 2004 8 
			 Consultation on the Draft Commission for Social Care Inspection. (Children's Rights Director) Regulations 2004 12 December 2003 to 16 January 2004 5 
			 Consultation on amendments to the Teachers' Pensions Regulations 1997 10 December 2003 to 6 February 2004 8 
			 Defining e-Government Priority Service and Transformation Outcomes in 2005 for Local Authorities in England. 16 December 2003 to 27 January 2004 6 
			
			  2005   
			 Review of Further Education 7 February 2005 to 30 April 2005 12 
			 School Meals and School Food Trust 24 February 2005 to 22 March 2005 4 
			 Lead Professional Good Practice Guidance 11 March 2005 to 4 April 2005 4 
			 Reducing Re-offenders Through Skills and Employment 18 March 2005 to 25 May 2005 9 
			 Draft Teachers' Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2005 23 March 2005 to 16 May 2005 7 
			  8 June 2005 to 4 July 2005 3 
			 School Inspection Regulations 2 June 2005 to 15 July 2005 6 
			 Further Education Review (second consultation phase) 21 June 2005 to 17 August 2005 8 
			 Review of Higher Education Student Finance Delivery 13 July 2005 to 5 October 2005 12 
			 Proposed Amendment to the Children (NI, Guernsey and IOM) Regulations 1991 13 July 2005 to 31 August 2005 7 
			 Procuring School Meals—Draft for consultation 29 July 2005 to 30 December 2005 22 
			 Consultation on Modified Distribution Method for DSG for 2006/07 and 2007/08 5 August 2005 to 30 September 2005 8 
			 Statutory Duty on Local Authorities to identify children missing education 18 November 2005 to 19 December 2005 4 
			
			  2006   
			 Consultation on the Repeal of Reg 7 of the Education (Schools and Further and Higher Education) Regs 1989 1 March 2006 to 23 May 2006 12 
			 Transforming School Food: Standards for School Food other than Lunch 2 March 2006 to 31 March 2006 4 
			 Draft Welsh Language Scheme 21 June 2006 to 2 August 2006 6 
			 Islam in Universities 16 August 2006 to 31 March 2007 33 
			 Pre Recruitment Checks 18 September 2006 to 21 December 2006 13 
			 FE: Raising skills, improving life chances: the implications for race equality 29 September 2006 to 27 October 2006 4 
			 Supplementary Consultation on School Admissions 7 November 2006 to 1 December 2006 3 
			
			  2007   
			 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 16 November 2006 to 21 January 2007 9 
			 Language Review 14 December 2006 to 31 January 2007 7 
			 Early Years Foundation Stage Learning and Development Requirements Order 20 December 2006 to 2 February 2007 6 
			 Amendments to the Education (ISS) provision of information, Inspection Fees (England) Regs 2003 and 2004 1 February 2007 to 30 April 2007 12 
			 Developing provision for children with Special Educational Needs 8 March 2004 to 6 April 2007 4

Education: Per Capita Costs

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the amount of money available to each English local education authority per school pupil was in the school year 1996-97 in  (a) actual and  (b) real terms at 2007 prices, ranked in order of the amount of grant available from his Department.

Jim Knight: holding answer 21 February 2007
	The figures in the following table show the education blocks of the 1996-97 Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) settlement (part of the Local Government Finance Settlement from what was then Department of Environment) plus Grants for Education, Support and Training from the then Department for Education and Employment. The table does not include the Isles of Scilly and the City of London due to their small size.
	
		
			  Funding for pupils aged five to 15 and reflects the 132 local authorities that existed in 1996-97 
			  LEA  Cash terms  Real terms 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,520 4,370 
			 Lambeth 3,500 4,350 
			 Hackney 3,470 4,310 
			 Southwark 3,320 4,120 
			 Islington 3,300 4,100 
			 Camden 3,260 4,050 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3,230 4,010 
			 Lewisham 3,210 3,990 
			 Greenwich 3,130 3,890 
			 Westminster 3,080 3,820 
			 Wandsworth 3,050 3,790 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3,030 3,760 
			 Haringey 3,030 3,760 
			 Newham 3,010 3,740 
			 Brent 2,970 3,690 
			 Waltham Forest 2,870 3,560 
			 Ealing 2,750 3,420 
			 Hounslow 2,710 3,370 
			 Manchester 2,670 3,320 
			 Enfield 2,650 3,290 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,640 3,280 
			 Croydon 2,620 3,250 
			 Redbridge 2,600 3,230 
			 Knowsley 2,580 3,200 
			 Merton 2,550 3,170 
			 Barnet 2,540 3,150 
			 Harrow 2,540 3,150 
			 Liverpool 2,540 3,150 
			 Hillingdon 2,530 3,140 
			 Birmingham 2,510 3,120 
			 Sutton 2,500 3,100 
			 Bexley 2,460 3,050 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 2,450 3,040 
			 Havering 2,440 3,030 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2,430 3,020 
			 Middlesbrough 2,430 3,020 
			 Wolverhampton 2,420 3,010 
			 Isle of Wight Council 2,420 3,010 
			 Hertfordshire 2,410 2,990 
			 Bradford 2,400 2,980 
			 Bromley 2,390 2,970 
			 City of Kingston-upon-Hull 2,390 2,970 
			 Sandwell 2,380 2,960 
			 Bedfordshire(1) 2,380 2,960 
			 Essex(1) 2,380 2,960 
			 Coventry 2,370 2,940 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 2,370 2,940 
			 Berkshire(1) 2,370 2,940 
			 Salford 2,360 2,930 
			 Doncaster 2,360 2,930 
			 East Sussex(1) 2,360 2,930 
			 Kent(1) 2,360 2,930 
			 Surrey 2,360 2,930 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2,350 2,920 
			 Buckinghamshire(1) 2,350 2,920 
			 Wirral 2,340 2,910 
			 Rochdale 2,340 2,910 
			 South Tyneside 2,340 2,910 
			 Oldham 2,330 2,890 
			 Gateshead 2,330 2,890 
			 Sunderland 2,320 2,880 
			 City of Bristol 2,320 2,880 
			 Hartlepool 2,320 2,880 
			 Walsall 2,310 2.870 
			 Sheffield 2,310 2,870 
			 Cornwall 2,310 2,870 
			 Durham(1) 2,310 2,870 
			 West Sussex 2,310 2,870 
			 Rotherham 2,300 2,860 
			 Calderdale 2,300 2,860 
			 Hampshire(1) 2,300 2,860 
			 Oxfordshire 2,300 2,860 
			 Kirklees 2,290 2,840 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 2,290 2,840 
			 North East Lincolnshire 2,290 2,840 
			 Lincolnshire 2,290 2,840 
			 Norfolk 2,290 2,840 
			 North Lincolnshire 2,280 2,830 
			 Nottinghamshire(1) 2,280 2,830 
			 Barnsley 2,270 2,820 
			 North Tyneside 2,270 2,820 
			 Cambridgeshire(1) 2,270 2,820 
			 Cumbria 2,270 2,820 
			 Devon(1) 2,270 2,820 
			 Lancashire(1) 2,270 2,820 
			 Northumberland 2,270 2,820 
			 St. Helens 2,260 2,810 
			 Sefton 2,260 2,810 
			 Bolton 2,260 2,810 
			 North Yorkshire 2,260 2,810 
			 Leicestershire(1) 2,260 2,810 
			 Shropshire(1) 2,260 2,810 
			 Leeds 2,250 2,790 
			 Somerset 2,240 2,780 
			 Northamptonshire 2,230 2,770 
			 Wigan 2.220 2,760 
			 Derbyshire(1) 2,220 2,760 
			 Dorset(1) 2,220 2,760 
			 Gloucestershire 2,220 2,760 
			 Hereford and Worcester(1) 2,220 2,760 
			 Wiltshire(1) 2,220 2,760 
			 Tameside 2,210 2,740 
			 Trafford 2,210 2,740 
			 Wakefield 2,210 2,740 
			 Cheshire(1) 2,210 2,740 
			 Suffolk 2,210 2,740 
			 Warwickshire 2,210 2,740 
			 Dudley 2,200 2,730 
			 Bury 2,200 2,730 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 2,200 2,730 
			 York 2,200 2,730 
			 Staffordshire(1) 2,190 2,720 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 2,180 2,710 
			 Solihull 2,170 2,690 
			 Stockport 2,160 2,680 
			 North Somerset 2,160 2,680 
			 South Gloucestershire 2,120 2,630 
			 England 2,370 2,940 
			 (1) LEAs affected by local government re-organisation in 1997-98.  Notes: 1. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) settlement and Grants for Education, Support and Training. 2. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to per pupil are those underlying the SSA settlement calculations. 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. Cash and real terms at 2005-06 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 21 December 2006.

English Language

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on teaching English as a foreign language in Bedfordshire and Luton in 2005-06; and what the expected estimated total expenditure is in 2007-08.

Bill Rammell: holding answer23 March 2007
	 The following figures are for Further Education Learning Skills Council funded aims with Bedfordshire and Luton Providers in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
	
		
			  Learning Aim Title  Data  2005-06  ( F05 )  2006-07  ( F 0 1 )  Grand  t otal 
			 Certificate in teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA) Aims  18 18 
			  Funding (£)  10,791 10,791 
			  
			 Basic ESOL course, entry level Aims 82 38 120 
			  Funding (£) 44,255 23,155 67,410 
			  
			 Basic ESOL Course, Level 1 Aims 7 1 9 
			  Funding (£) 2,715 1,143 3,858 
			  
			 Basic ESOL Course, Level 2 Aims 7 5  
			  Funding (£) 742 801 1,543 
			  
			 Certificate in English (ESOL) Aims 99 31 130 
			  Funding (£)  23,832 23,832 
			  
			 Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life Aims 244 150 394 
			  Funding (£) 341,771 418,583 760,354 
			  
			 Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life (Entry 1) Aims 483 178 661 
			  Funding (£) 767,111 558,661 1,325,772 
			  
			 Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life (Entry 2) Aims 353 149 502 
			  Funding (£) 505,539 453,326 958,865 
			  
			 Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life (Entry 3) Aims 637 128 765 
			  Funding (£) 651,853 428,911 1,080,764 
			  
			 Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life (Speaking and Listening) (Entry 1) Aims 49 104 153 
			  Funding (£) 46,670 83,317 129,987 
			  
			 Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life (Speaking and Listening) (Entry 2) Aims 55 34 89 
			  Funding (£) 42,117 29,732 71,849 
			  
			 Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life (Speaking and Listening) (Entry 3) Aims 20 32 52 
			  Funding (£) 12,167 30,781 42,948 
			 Certificate in ESOL Subject Specialist Aims 16 9 25 
			  Funding (£) 6,454 3,830 10,284 
			   
			 Diagnostic Test in ESOL, 3 guided learning hours Aims 3349  3349 
			  Funding (£) 234,832  234,832 
			  
			 Entry Level Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life (Entry 1) Aims 94 87 181 
			  Funding (£) 305,438 334,668 640,106 
			  
			 Entry Level Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life (Entry 2) Aims 21 6 27 
			  Funding (£) 42,597 20,176 62,773 
			  
			 Entry Level Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life (Entry 3) Aims 6 27 33 
			  Funding (£) 24,953 100,385 125,338 
			  
			 Entry Level Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life (Speaking and Listening) (Entry 1) Aims 353 119 472 
			  Funding (£) 339,631 84,061 423,692 
			  
			 Entry Level Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life (Speaking and Listening) (Entry 2) Aims 157 129 286 
			  Funding (£) 121,923 132,736 254,659 
			  
			 Entry Level Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life (Speaking and Listening) (Entry 3) Aims 67 76 143 
			  Funding (£) 54,002 46,892 100,894 
			  
			 Open College Network Basic ESOL Course, Entry Level Aims 440 577 1017 
			  Funding (£) 229,552 382,367 611,919 
			  
			 Total Aims  6,539 1,898 8,437 
			 Total Funding  3,774,322 3,168,148 6,942,470 
		
	
	The expectation is that next year's spending on ESOL will be broadly comparable to this year. The budget for the next five years will be dependent upon the comprehensive spending review after which all priorities will be re-assessed.

English Language

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what he expects the fees to be for the range of English for Speakers of Other Languages courses in 2007-08 between a programme of two hours per week for 30 weeks and a full-time programme of 450 programme guided learning hours.

Phil Hope: holding answer 2 March 2007
	Since 2001, almost 2 million people have taken up the opportunity to improve their English language skills through the Skills for Life Strategy.
	The fee for a learner taking a course in English for Speakers of Other Languages is an operational matter for the national Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Mark Haysom, the LSC's Chief Executive, has written to my hon. Friend with this information. A copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 21 March 2007:
	I write in response to your recent question to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, about the expected fees for English for Speakers of Other Languages courses in 2007-08 between a programme of two hours per week for 30 weeks and a full-time programme of 450 programme guided learning hours (glh).
	Guidance on assumed fee rates is set out in the "Funding Guidance for Further Education 2006/07", Annex A. In particular Table A2 gives the loadbanded assumed fee element for provision from 9glh to 1019glh per year.
	For 2007/08 the assumed fee contribution will move to 37.5% from 32.5% (2006/07).
	Set out below is the likely assumed fee rate for all qualifications of the stated glhs for 2007/08. The 2007/08 guidance is due to be published by April 2007 and there may be a slight variance in the figures once all the final calculations have been done:
	
		
			£ 
			 For 60 - 89 glh Assumed fee contribution would be: 153 
			 For 450 - 479 glh Assumed fee contribution would be: 990

English Language

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2007,  Official Report, column 487W, on English for Speakers of Other Languages, if he will publish the data to which he refers from the Learning and Skills Council's Individualised Learning Record disaggregated to the degree possible.

Phil Hope: The answer of 1 February referred to Learning and Skills Council (LSC) data which show the increase in demand for Skills for Life English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision.
	LSC data show that between 2000/01 and 2004/05, enrolments onto basic skills learning aims increased as follows:
	
		
			   Enrolments ( Thousand ) 
			 2000/01 159,000 
			 2001/02 302,000 
			 2002/03 413,000 
			 2003/04 488,000 
			 2004/05 484,000 
			 2005/06 (1)504,000 
			 (1 )Based on data up to data October 2006, both confirmed and estimated. 
		
	
	These data are not normally published as part of the Statistical First Release on the DfES website.
	The current ESOL cohort do not all have the same learning needs as the original target cohort for Skills for Life ESOL. In order to deliver learning appropriate to the needs of both the settled community and those who need English for work in the UK, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has been asked to develop new ESOL for Work qualifications.

Entry to Employment Programme: Gloucestershire

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department provided to the E2E programme in Gloucestershire in 2006-07; what that figure represents per head of population; what the average figure per head of population is in England; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: holding answer 22 March 2007
	 The E2E budget in Gloucestershire for 2006/07 is £2,377,931. This is based on an estimate of 827 young people starting in learning during the year. E2E funding is based on a single national weekly rate per place, with additional payments for achievement of qualifications and for progression into employment, learning or training. Because E2E programmes are developed to meet individual needs there are different lengths of stay and different achievements and progression. Based on the current average length of stay in learning of 19 weeks, and progression and achievement rates around 50 per cent., the average level of funding for E2E learners in Gloucestershire is £2,875. Length of stay and achievement/progression rates in Gloucestershire are broadly in line with national figures, and as the funding rates are the same, the level of funding will also be broadly the same.

GCSE

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students achieved five GCSEs at grade C or above including English and mathematics in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: holding answer 19 March 2007
	The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  GCSE and equivalent attempts and achievements, 1996/97 to 2005/06( 1, 2) , England 
			   Number of pupils( 3)  Percentage who achieved 5+ A*-C grades including English and Mathematics 
			  15-year-olds   
			 1996/97(4) 586,766 35.6 
			 1997/98 575,210 37.0 
			 1998/99 580,972 38.6 
			 1999/2000 580,393 40.0 
			 2000/01 603,318 40.7 
			 2001/02 606,554 42.1 
			 2002/03 622,122 41.9 
			 2003/04(5) 643,560 42.6 
			 2004/05 636,771 44.3 
			 2005/06 648,942 45.3 
			
			  Pupils at End Key Stage 4   
			 2004/05 633,414 44.9 
			 2005/06 645,931 (2)45.8 
			 (1) Including attempts and achievement in previous academic years.  (2) Figures for 2005/06 are revised from those published previously following checking with schools, all other figures are final.  (3) Number of pupils on roll aged 15 at the start of the academic year or from 2004/05 end of Key Stage 4 figures or the number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in that academic year.  (4) Percentages from 1996/97 include GCSEs and GNVQs.  (5) Percentages from 2003/04 include GCSEs and other equivalent qualifications approved for use pre-16.

Headteachers: Pay

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the salary is of the head teacher in each academy.

Jim Knight: The Department does not hold information centrally on academy principals' salaries.

Independent Schools

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what formal consultation with stakeholders took place prior to the publication of the consultation document on the Definition of Full-Time Education in Independent Schools; in what form; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The consultation on the "Definition of Full Time Education in Independent Schools" has been undertaken in full adherence with the Cabinet Office's Code of Practice on Consultations. All major stakeholders, identified prior to the consultation, were sent a copy of the consultation on the day it launched and invited to respond. The consultation is available on the Department's website.

Information and Communications Technology: Employment

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what areas in IT in the UK are expected to have skills shortages in  (a) five and  (b) 10 years time.

Phil Hope: The IT sector is expected to grow by more than 20 per cent. in the next 10 years, representing more than 200,000 new jobs. By 2014 more than 1 million workers will be employed in the IT sector.
	One third of employers report skills gaps in their current specialist IT work force. Demand will continue to grow most in high level IT skills. New entrants to the work force will need significantly higher levels of business, project, interpersonal and technical skills. The need to improve IT user skills among the general working population will also continue to grow. Regional employment forecasts show that the regional concentration of the IT industry across the UK is not expected to shift significantly. The largest share of the IT industry will remain in the South East and London.
	The Sector Skills Council for the IT sector, e-skills UK, published the Sector Skills Agreement of IT Action Plans for England, Scotland and Wales during 2005, setting out how the various partners in the education and skills system will work together with the sector to meet the sector's future skills needs.

Languages: Education

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of teaching foreign languages to age  (a) seven,  (b) 10 and  (c) 14-years-olds.

Jim Knight: The Department has commissioned two pieces of research into language teaching and learning at key stage 2 (7 to 11). The first is looking at the national implementation of primary languages and the other at the impact the teaching of languages has on attainment across the primary curriculum. The first headline findings will be published in July 2007. We have also developed a two year training programme to increase the quality and consistency of language teaching at key stage 3, and have commissioned a two year research project into the provision and practice of language learning at key stage 3. The Dearing Review of languages, published on 12 March, recommended improving teaching through a range of CPD. We are currently considering how to implement his recommendations.

Literacy: Curriculum

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what flexibility teachers have to offer remedial reading teaching within the mandatory elements of the national curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The national curriculum sets out which subjects must be taught at each key stage. The knowledge, skills and understanding, and the prescribed content which must be covered, are set out in statutory programmes of study for each subject.
	The national curriculum does not completely fill the school timetable at any key stage and provides teachers with the flexibility to include remedial teaching where required. This flexibility enables schools to satisfy the demands of the overarching curriculum inclusion statement which requires teachers to set suitable learning challenges for all pupils; to respond to diverse learning needs and to put in place strategies to overcome potential barriers to learning and assessment.

Literature: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on what basis the authors in the list of pre-20(th) century texts for the revised key stage three programme of study proposed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority were selected.

Jim Knight: The pre-20(th) century authors were selected as they have an enduring appeal that transcends the period in which they were written and have played a significant role in the development of literature in English. They continue to be read, studied and interpreted in print and on screen for contemporary audiences.

New Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new schools were built under the direct management of  (a) his Department and  (b) local authorities in each of the past 30 years.

Jim Knight: The Department for Education and Skills does not directly procure or manage the building of new schools.
	We do not collect information on new schools built by local authorities, in support of our policies of devolving decision-making to the local level and minimising bureaucratic burden. But we estimate that since 1997, 800 new schools have been built around the country.
	However, we have information on the numbers of new schools (including replacement schools) built in recent years through the private finance initiative, and in the academies programme. This information is provided in the table below. We will collect this information systematically in Building Schools for the Future and the primary capital programme.
	Number of new schools completed in each year:
	
		
			   PFI  Academies  Total 
			 1999-2000 3 n/a 3 
			 2000-01 5 n/a 5 
			 2001-02 18 n/a 18 
			 2002-03 30 n/a 30 
			 2003-04 51 4 55 
			 2004-05 23 5 28 
			 2005-06 25 6 31 
			 2006-07 32 7 39 
		
	
	Additionally, in the voluntary aided sector, the number of new schools built each year, listed by year of project approval is:
	
		
			   Voluntary aided 
			 2001-02 4 
			 2002-03 17 
			 2003-04 7 
			 2004-05 0 
			 2005-06 1 
			 2006-07 0 
			  Note: These figures under-represent the number of new voluntary aided schools opened, as they do not include where a new school is open, but where all elements of construction are not yet completed. Nor do the figures include new voluntary aided schools approved in earlier years but completed in or after 2001-02, where the records are not readily accessible. 
		
	
	We have not searched for records on new schools going back to 1977 as this would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

Parliamentary Questions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will answer Question 106146, on departmental energy use, tabled by the hon. Member for Wealden on 23 November 2006.
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 7 March 2007,  Official Report, column 2070W.

Pupil Exclusions: City Academies

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils were excluded from each academy in the last school year; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Academies ( 1) : Number and percentage of permanent exclusions 2004/05  Schools in England 
			2004/05 
			  Establishment name  Local authority name  Number of permanent exclusions  Percentage of school population( 2) 
			 Capital City Academy Brent 11 1.21 
			 City of London Academy (Southwark) Southwark 3 0.83 
			 Dixons City Academy Bradford (3)— (3)— 
			 Djanogly City Academy Nottingham Nottingham 11 0.70 
			 Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy Lewisham (3)— (3)— 
			 Northampton Academy Northamptonshire 9 0.72 
			 Salford City Academy Salford 6 n/a 
			 Stockley Academy Hillingdon 4 0.68 
			 The Academy at Peckham Southwark 10 0.93 
			 The Business Academy Bexley Bexley 7 0.51 
			 The City Academy Bristol Bristol City of 4 0.37 
			 The King's Academy Middlesbrough 7 0.67 
			 Unity City Academy Middlesbrough 6 0.53 
			 West London Academy Ealing 22 1.95 
			 n/a = Not available (1) Academies with one or more permanent exclusions during 2004/05. (2) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the headcount of pupils in the school as at January 2005. (3) 1 or 2 exclusions, or a rate based on 1 or 2 exclusions  Note: These figures are as reported by schools and are unconfirmed.  Source:  School Census 
		
	
	Exclusions data are collected retrospectively. Information on exclusions during the 2005/06 school year is expected to be published in June 2007.
	Exclusions in academies are high relative to national averages. However, academies are placing great emphasis on getting the basics right and improving behaviour in particular. Academies often inherit a large number of disruptive pupils and need to establish good behaviour in order to raise attainment. As the new ethos and behaviour policy are enforced in an academy's early days, the number of exclusions may rise, but it typically drops down as behaviour improves.
	This phenomenon is not unique to academies—the same effect is often observed when a new head teacher transforms a struggling maintained school.

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority derived the six groups within the personal, learning and thinking skills framework.

Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's (QCA) personal, learning and thinking skills framework was designed following extensive consultation. The QCA carried out an online survey with local authorities, teacher associations, sector skills councils, awarding bodies and partner organisations between 3 October and 2 December 2005. In addition, the QCA discussed the framework at over 40 meetings with partners and stakeholders during the same period. The QCA also carried out a separate specific consultation for young people.

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  on what dates the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's Secondary Curriculum Review External Committee has met since it was established;
	(2)  how the members of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority Secondary Curriculum Review External Committee were appointed; and who was responsible for their appointment;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2007,  Official Report, column 2077W, on the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, what the terms of reference are of the Secondary Curriculum Review External Committee; and who the members of the committee are.

Jim Knight: A number of representatives from government bodies, educational organisations, schools and other stakeholders were invited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) to join its Secondary Curriculum Review External Committee. The QCA was responsible for the appointment of committee members.
	The current committee members are:
	Peter Walker, Secondary National Strategy
	Keith Wheeldon, Ofsted
	Mr. Hugh Baldry, The Training and Development Agency for Schools
	Ms Jenny Jupe, The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
	Ms Kathy Baker, General Teaching Council
	Professor John White, Institute of Education
	Dr. Gordon Stobart, Institute of Education
	Ms Sue Kirkham, Field House
	Mr. Steve Labedz, Admiral Lord Nelson School
	Mr. Martin Buck, Lister Community School
	Alison Mottram, Ashton on Mersey School
	Mrs. Carol Penney, South and West Association of Leaders in Special Schools
	Corri Van de Stege, The Learning and Skills Network
	Yasmin Bevan, The National College for School Leadership
	Julie Bramman, DfES
	Tina Isaacs, QCA
	Kate Moorse, QCA
	Jeremy Tafler, QCA
	John Brown, QCA
	David Downes, QCA
	The Committee's terms of reference are:
	To bring an external perspective to the development of the key stage 3 curriculum and its assessment;
	To help shape consultations with pupils, teachers, parents and other stakeholders;
	To help shape trialling and piloting aspects of the proposed curriculum and assessment changes; and
	To anticipate, and seek solutions for, possible implementation issues.
	The committee met on 17 May 2005, 21 September 2005, 24 November 2005, 6 February 2006, 21 April 2006, 2 November 2006 and 6 December 2006.

School Sponsorship

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what representations he has received from organisations based primarily outside the United Kingdom about sponsoring  (a) an academy and  (b) a foundation school with a foundation;
	(2)  when he will reply to question 111814, on academy and foundation schools, tabled by the hon. Member for Brent East on 23 January 2007.

Jim Knight: Officials in the Department for Education and Skills had preliminary discussions with two companies based primarily outside the United Kingdom back in 2005. They were keen to sponsor several academies in England but have since decided to withdraw from the proposal.
	Officials in the Department for Education and Skills have discussed supporting foundation schools with foundations (trust schools) with a wide range of organisations, including some based primarily outside the United Kingdom. Microsoft Ltd are confirmed as a partner for one of the trust school pathfinder schools. However the Department does not hold a comprehensive list of every organisation that has expressed an early interest or asked for information about forming a foundation to support a school.

Schools: Admissions

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of pupils were admitted to their first preference school in the last year for which figures are available for all secondary schools.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Schools: Admissions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  which admissions authorities include ballot by lottery amongst their oversubscription criteria, in each local authority;
	(2)  which admissions authorities allocate places  (a) primarily by lottery and  (b) by lottery within fair banding, in each local authority;
	(3)  which admissions authorities include catchment area amongst their oversubscription criteria, broken down by local authority;
	(4)  which admissions authorities allocate places primarily by catchment area, broken down by local authority;
	(5)  how many children living within a catchment area for a school which they listed as first preference did not get a place in that school in the latest period for which figures are available, in each local authority;
	(6)  how many children living within a catchment area for a school to which they applied did not get a place in that school in the latest period for which figures are available, in each local authority.

Jim Knight: None of the data requested is collected centrally, but they may be available from individual local authorities.
	The admissions framework is flexible enough to allow admission authorities to take account of local circumstances. They may set whatever admission criteria they consider appropriate as long as they are in accordance with the School Admissions Code. Random allocation, use of catchment areas, or banding are all acceptable means of determining which children should be given priority for admission to oversubscribed schools. They can also be used together—for example, by using random allocation within a defined catchment area—or alongside other criteria—for example, giving priority to siblings.

Schools: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the dedicated schools grant was for the London Borough of Bexley in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) was first introduced in 2006-07; the funding that Bexley received in 2006-07 and the indicative allocation for 2007-08 are detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			   2006-07 (final)  2007-08 (indicative) 
			 DSG guaranteed unit of funding per pupil 3,719.15 137.002 
			 Total DSG funding 3,969.90 145.552 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are on a cash basis 2. Prior to the introduction of the DSG, funding for nursery, primary and secondary school aged pupils was through the Education Funding System (EFS) which was part of the local government finance settlement. EFS was based on what an authority needed to fund education whereas DSG is largely based on an authority's previous spending. EFS also included funding for an authority's central functions, this is still part of DCLG's local government finance settlement rather than DSG. For these reasons EFS and DSG are not comparable. 3. The DSG does not represent the totality of education funding; there are other grants that support the schools budget which have not been included in the table.  Source: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=9405

Schools: Construction

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1397-98W, on schools: construction, how many schools have completed the BREEAM schools assessment process; and what rating they have achieved.

Jim Knight: holding answer 23 March 2007
	The numbers of schools that have registered for BREEAM Schools certification now stands at 470 up from 347 in December 2006. Of these, 459 are currently undergoing assessment.
	11 schools have now completed the assessment process; four in England and seven in Scotland. In England, two schools achieved a "good" rating, one a "pass" rating, and one a "very good" rating. All seven schools in Scotland achieved a "good" rating.

Schools: Crimes of Violence

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many incidents of violence towards  (a) staff and  (b) pupils were reported in (i) the 10 per cent. of primary schools with the (A) lowest and (B) highest levels of free school meal entitlement and (ii) the 10 per cent. of secondary schools with the (A) lowest and (B) highest levels of free school meal entitlement in 2006.

Jim Knight: The number of incidents of violence towards staff and pupils is not collected centrally.
	From the academic year 2003/04, information is available on the reasons for pupil exclusions. These reasons include 'physical assault against an adult' and 'physical assault against a pupil'.
	The table provides a breakdown of the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions during 2004/05 from maintained primary and secondary schools for physical assault against a pupil or an adult in schools with the highest and lowest proportion of school population known to be eligible for free school meals.
	Exclusions data are collected retrospectively. The latest available exclusions data relate to the 2004/05 academic year. Information on exclusions during the 2005/06 academic year is expected to be released in June 2007.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : permanent and fixed period exclusions for physical assault against a pupil or an  adult( 2) —2004/05 England 
			   Maintained primary schools  Maintained secondary schools 
			   10 per cent. of schools with:   10 per cent. of schools with:  
			   l owest percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 3)  h ighest percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 3)  All  s chools  l owest percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 3)  h ighest percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 3)  All  s chools 
			 Number of schools(4) 1,766 1,764 17,642 339 339 3,367 
			
			  Exclusions for physical assault against an adult   
			 Number of fixed period exclusions 120 1,410 5,960 210 1,700 9,490 
			 Fixed period exclusions per 1,000 pupils 0.40 2.89 1.42 0.59 5.79 2.86 
			 Number of permanent exclusions(2) (5)— 70 280 10 160 870 
			 Permanent exclusions per 1,000 pupils (5)— 0.15 0.07 0.04 0.56 0.26 
			  Exclusions for physical assault against a pupil   
			 Number of fixed period exclusions 210 2,810 11,950 2,460 7,250 65,790 
			 Fixed period exclusions per 1,000 pupils 0.70 5.74 2.84 7.04 24.70 19.84 
			 Number of permanent exclusions(2) (5)— 50 240 40 220 1,460 
			 Permanent exclusions per 1,000 pupils (5)— 0.11 0.06 0.10 0.76 0.44 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Published statistics (SFR 24/2006) on permanent exclusions have been derived from data collected via the school census. These data did not include the reason for exclusion. Figures shown in this table relating to permanent exclusions have been derived from Termly Exclusions Survey returns and will not match published figures on permanent exclusions. (3) Information on the proportion of school population known to be eligible for free school meals has been derived from 2005 school census returns. Schools have been ranked based on the percentage of full-time pupils aged 0 to 15 and part-time pupils aged five to 15 who are known to be eligible for free school meals. (4) Schools were sorted by the proportion of school population known to be eligible for free school meals and size of school population. Three primary schools had the same free school meal percentage and school population at the end of the lowest 10 per cent. band and have all been included in this analysis (pushing the band size to 1,766 instead of 1,764). (5) One or two exclusions, or a rate based on one or two exclusions.  Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown.  Source:  Termly Exclusions Survey and School Census

Schools: Finance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which local authorities agreed increases in centrally retained expenditure from their school budgets above the central expenditure limit in 2006-07.

Jim Knight: The following list details the 90 local authorities whose budget for central expenditure for 2006-07 was greater than the allowed limit. This is taken from the local authority benchmarking tables which can be found on TeacherNet at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/localauthorities/section52/subPage.cfm?action=section52.default&ID=73
	The tables were published on 31 August 2006 and copies of the data have been placed in the House Library.
	Two technical changes to the school funding system for 2006-07 contributed to the total of 90 authorities who breached the central expenditure limit: local authorities were allowed to retain centrally funding which had in 2005-06 been distributed through teachers' pay grant; and school specific contingency within the individual schools budget (ISB) was abolished, leading to an increase in the amount of contingency held within the central budget for some local authorities. We thought it appropriate that local schools forums should approve these arrangements where they led to a breach of the central expenditure limit.
	Barnsley
	Bath and North East Somerset
	Bedfordshire
	Birmingham
	Bolton
	Bournemouth
	Bracknell Forest
	Bradford
	Brent
	Bromley
	Calderdale
	City of Bristol
	City of Kingston Upon Hull
	Coventry
	Croydon
	Cumbria
	Darlington
	Derby
	Derbyshire
	Doncaster
	Dorset
	East Riding of Yorkshire
	East Sussex
	Enfield
	Essex
	Gloucestershire
	Greenwich
	Hackney
	Halton
	Hampshire
	Haringey
	Hartlepool
	Havering
	Hertfordshire
	Hounslow
	Islington
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Kent
	Kirklees
	Knowsley
	Lancashire
	Leeds
	Leicester
	Leicestershire
	Lewisham
	Liverpool
	Luton
	Manchester
	Medway
	Merton
	Middlesbrough
	Newcastle upon Tyne
	Norfolk
	North Lincolnshire
	North Yorkshire
	Northamptonshire
	Northumberland
	Nottingham
	Peterborough
	Portsmouth
	Reading
	Richmond upon Thames
	Rochdale
	Rotherham
	Rutland
	Salford
	Sandwell
	Sheffield
	Slough
	Somerset
	South Tyneside
	Southwark
	St. Helens
	Staffordshire
	Stoke-on-Trent
	Suffolk
	Sunderland
	Surrey
	Telford and Wrekin
	Tower Hamlets
	Trafford
	Warrington
	West Berkshire
	West Sussex
	Westminster
	Wigan
	Windsor and Maidenhead
	Wirral
	Wolverhampton
	York

Schools: Fire Extinguishers

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what his Department's policy is on the installation of sprinkler systems in existing school buildings;
	(2)  what his Department's policy is on the installation of sprinkler systems in school buildings being  (a) renovated and  (b) newly built.

Jim Knight: On 1 March I was able to announce in the House our new policy on sprinklers. It is now our expectation that all new schools will have fire sprinklers installed. However, we do not intend to make this a compulsory measure as sufficient regulations are already in place covering life safety and we do not need to legislate further for property protection. There may be cases where local authorities or other promoters of schools consider that sprinklers are not needed. They will need to be able to demonstrate that such schools are low risk and that sprinklers would not represent good value for money. To do this they should use our new risk assessment and cost benefit analysis tools that I launched on 26 February at a parliamentary seminar.
	Where a school is undergoing extensive renovation, local authorities and other promoters should use the same tools to determine levels of risk and value for money, and therefore whether sprinklers are needed or should be considered. We are not suggesting that existing school buildings that are not undergoing refurbishment should have sprinklers installed. However, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, implemented in October 2006, requires all schools to carry our annual fire risk assessments. Where risks are identified, measures must be taken to reduce or remove them.

Schools: Greenwich

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department has taken to improve the performance of schools in the London borough of Greenwich since 1997.

Jim Knight: Greenwich has seen a significant overall rise in standards across all Key Stages since 1997. The proportion of 11-year-olds reaching the target level 4+ has risen by 24 percentage points to 74 per cent. in English in 2006 and by 20 percentage points to 71 per cent. in mathematics. The proportion of pupils achieving 5 A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent has improved by 12 percentage points to 43 per cent. in 2006. This represents faster improvement than the national average.
	We want to see standards in Greenwich improve further and the Government's London Challenge programme and the National Strategies in particular are working closely with the borough and its schools to achieve this.
	London Challenge support since 2003 includes:
	Direct support for five of Greenwich's secondary schools through the Keys to Success programme. This has provided schools with access to expert advice from a London Challenge Adviser who has helped them to prioritise areas for improvement and put together bespoke improvement packages;
	Consultancy support for English, maths and science in secondary schools across the borough;
	Inclusion in the Science Challenge to improve the standard of science in target secondary schools;
	Inclusion in the English and Maths Challenge to improve standards in English and maths in target secondary schools;
	Inclusion in the Primary London Challenge which aims to raise standards in traditionally underperforming primary schools.
	Support for the local authority to increase capacity in the Secondary School Improvement Team
	Opportunities for Greenwich teachers to qualify as Chartered London Teachers and support for housing costs.
	Consultant Leaders working to support school leadership.
	KS2-3 Transition projects
	Opportunities for Greenwich students to gain a variety of rich experiences out of school.
	ICT projects

Schools: Standards

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) supported research into the impact on governing bodies and their chair of a school being put into special measures.

Jim Knight: The Department has not commissioned or supported research into the impact on governing bodies of a school that is placed in special measures. For such a school the local authority has a duty to prepare a statement of action within 10 working days and we expect urgent action to be taken by the authority, governing body and others involved to improve provision at the school as soon as possible.
	This will inevitably involve a good deal of hard work, but a well organised governing body can spread its workload by setting up committees to consider various matters on, for example, curriculum, finance and management issues. Support from the local authority can include the appointment of additional members to strengthen the governing body.
	Where the Ofsted inspection finds that the governors are not discharging their responsibilities adequately and this failure contributes to the finding that the school requires special measures then the local authority should include in its statement of action how it will address governance issues at the school.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will assess the extent to which schools teach specific factual content above that which is proposed in the programmes of study included in the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority secondary curriculum review.

Jim Knight: We have no plans to make such an assessment.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the consultation launched by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority on 5 February on the secondary curriculum  (a) relates solely to the revised key stage 3 programme of study and  (b) includes (i) the revised key stage 4 programmes of study and (ii) the content of the sections entitled curriculum lenses, Organising the curriculum and curriculum dimensions on the secondary curriculum review website.

Jim Knight: The statutory consultation launched by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority on 5 February relates to proposed changes to the statutory programmes of study and level descriptions at key stages 3 and 4.
	QCA has also invited separate comment on supporting materials to accompany the proposed programmes of study, including the content of the sections entitled curriculum lenses, Organising the curriculum and curriculum dimensions.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority considered the content of maths curricula in use in  (a) Japan,  (b) South Korea,  (c) Flemish-Belgium,  (d) Singapore,  (e) Chinese Tapei and  (f) Hong Kong when designing the new programme of study in mathematics as part of the secondary curriculum review.

Jim Knight: Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) curriculum advisers keep up to date with developments in other countries and with international studies and surveys, especially from countries where achievement in mathematics is higher than that in the United Kingdom. While the QCA has not drawn from the curriculum of any specific country when designing the new programmes of study for mathematics, the background knowledge gained was used in its preparation.

Secondary Schools

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of mainstream maintained secondary schools set lessons in  (a) mathematics,  (b) English and  (c) science.

Jim Knight: holding answer 23 March 2007
	We have figures for the number of lessons as opposed to the number of schools. In its 2002/03 school inspection cycle, Ofsted noted that of all the lessons which inspectors observed:
	5,567 of mathematics lessons were set (86 per cent.)
	3,681 English lessons were set (51 per cent.)
	4,456 science lessons were set (70 per cent.)
	We want schools to provide a tailored education for every child and believe that the effective use of pupil grouping plays an important part in supporting this aim. We have been encouraging schools to use setting and other forms of pupil grouping since 1997. However, it will continue to be for schools to decide how and when to group and set pupils. That is the only practical approach.

Students: Part-Time Employment

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the numbers of students undertaking full-time higher education courses who have part-time jobs.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 15 March 2007
	 The Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2004/05, published on the 30 March 2006, is a comprehensive study on students' income, expenditure, borrowing and debt. It showed that 56 per cent. of all full-time undergraduate students undertook paid work at some time during the academic year—either during term time, during the short vacations or both. For those undertaking such work earnings were on average £3,250 (after tax). The Department plans to repeat the survey in the 2007/08 academic year.
	The Government provide a generous package of financial support for students. In 2006/07 no eligible full-time student has to find the funding for their fees before or while they are studying; the loans for living costs have been increased above inflation; and new maintenance grants of up to £2,700 are benefiting up to half the full-time students. Students generally ought not to need to work to meet their essential living costs. Nonetheless we recognise that many students undertake paid work and, providing excessive hours are not worked to the detriment of their academic studies, students can gain useful skills as well as supplementing their income.

Teachers

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of newly qualified  (a) secondary and  (b) primary school teachers who had not taken up full-time teaching posts one year after qualification in each of the last five years in Leeds.

Jim Knight: holding answer 23 March 2007
	The following tables provide the number and percentage of final year trainees from Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in Leeds gaining Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) award by academic year who have not commenced a full-time teaching post, in either the maintained or independent sector, six months after completing their course in the academic years, 2002/03 to 2004/05:
	
		
			  Final year primary school trainees from HEI providers in Leeds( 1)  gaining QTS award by academic year that have not commenced a full-time teaching post six months after completing their course 
			 ITT trainees gaining QTS with unknown destinations 
			   Number of ITT trainees gaining QTS known not to be in full-time teaching post  Percentage of all QTS award trainees not in full-time teaching posts  Number  Percentage 
			 2002/03 70 16 80 21 
			 2003/04(2) 90 26 60 17 
			 2004/05 100 26 40 11 
			 (1) HEIs in Leeds include the University of Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan University and Trinity and All Saints College.  (2) Leeds Metropolitan University is not included in 2003/04 figures because of inconsistencies in data collection and recording from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey.   Source:  The TDA performance profiles. 
		
	
	
		
			  Final year secondary school trainees from HEI providers in Leed s  gaining QTS award by academic year that have not commenced a full-time teaching post six months after completing their course 
			 ITT trainees gaining QTS with unknown destinations 
			   Number of ITT trainees gaining QTS known not to be in full-time teaching post  Percentage of all QTS award trainees not in full-time teaching posts  Number  Percentage 
			 2002/03 60 10 100 16 
			 2003/04(1) 90 15 110 20 
			 2004/05 90 14 110 17 
			 (1) Leeds Metropolitan University is not included in 2003/04 figures because of inconsistencies in data collection and recording from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey.   Notes: 1. Figures for final year trainees in Leeds include HEIs only, but exclude SCITT, OU and employment based routes. This is because the breakdown of teaching posts into full-time or part-time posts is only available for HEIs.  2. HEIs in Leeds include the University of Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan University and Trinity and All Saints College.  3. Trainees gaining QTS award and classified as known not to be in a full-time teaching post six months after completing their course include trainees who are in part-time teaching posts, seeking a teaching post and not seeking a teaching post.  4. These figures show the number of final year trainees from HEIs in Leeds gaining QTS award who have not commenced a full-time teaching post six months after completing their course. They do not show the number of NQTs living in Leeds who are not in full-time teaching posts. Also those who are in full-time teaching posts may not necessarily be teaching in Leeds. Not all qualifying teachers will seek employment in teaching immediately; some may travel, take further study or pursue other interests before doing so.  5. Figures for 2003/04 have been affected by inconsistencies in data collection and recording for Leeds Metropolitan University from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey. Therefore no data from Leeds Metropolitan University are included for 2003/04 figures.  6. Data on destinations of final year trainees for 2005/06 are not yet available.  7. The breakdown of the type of teaching posts which trainees enter (i.e. full-time or part-time) is only available for trainees who were awarded QTS in 2002/03 onwards.  8. Percentage calculation includes response whose employment status was unknown.  9. Figures are individually rounded to the nearest 10.   Source:  The TDA performance profiles.

Teachers: Redundancy Pay

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the total cost was of teacher redundancy payments in  (a) community schools,  (b) foundation schools,  (c) voluntary-aided schools,  (d) voluntary controlled schools,  (e) academies and  (f) city technology colleges in each year from 1997 to 2007;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of  (a) all teachers and  (b) teachers in (i) community schools, (ii) voluntary-aided schools, (iii) voluntary controlled schools, (iv) foundation schools, (v) academies and (vi) city technology colleges (A) took voluntary redundancy payments, (B) took early retirement, (C) retired and (D) were dismissed in each year between 1997 and 2007.

Jim Knight: Information on the number of teachers who took redundancy payments, the amount of these payments and the number of teachers who were subject to dismissal is not collected centrally.
	The following table provides the number of teachers who retired in each year from 1997/98 to 2005/06 in the maintained schools sector, city technology colleges and academies by type of retirement.
	The figures include teachers who may have left teaching service some years before being awarded retirement benefits. The year given is that of the award. Early retirements include premature and actuarially reduced benefit retirements but exclude ill-health retirements which are listed separately. This information is not available broken down for the other school types requested. 2005/06 is the latest information available.
	
		
			  Retirements from the maintained schools sector, city technology colleges and acadamies( 1) :Type of award by sex and year of award,  1997-98 to 2005-06, England 
			  Financial year (1 April to 31 March)  Early retirements( 2)  Age  Ill-health( 3)  Total 
			  1997-98( 4) 
			 Maintained schools 11,370 3,580 3,260 18,210 
			 City technology colleges 10 0 (6)— 10 
			 Academies — — — — 
			  
			  1998-99( 4) 
			 Maintained schools 2,380 3,830 2,290 8,490 
			 City technology colleges 0 (6)— (6)— 10 
			 Academies — — — — 
			  
			  1999-2000( 4) 
			 Maintained schools 2,650 4,270 2,320 9,240 
			 City technology colleges (6)— (6)— (6)— 10 
			 Academies — — — — 
			  
			  2000-01( 4) 
			 Maintained schools 3,160 4,230 2,630 10,020 
			 City technology colleges 0 (6)— (6)— (6)— 
			 Academies — — — — 
			  
			  2001-02( 4) 
			 Maintained Schools 3,480 4,420 2,380 10,270 
			 City technology Colleges (6)— (6)— 0 10 
			 Academies — — — — 
			  
			  2002-03( 4) 
			 Maintained schools 3,960 4,960 2,030 10,950 
			 City technology colleges 10 (6)— (6)— 10 
			 Academies — — — — 
			  
			  2003-04( 4,5) 
			 Maintained schools 4,930 5,530 1,870 12,330 
			 City technology colleges 10 (6)— 0 10 
			 Academies (6)— (6)— (6)— 10 
			  
			  2004-0 5( 4,5) 
			 Maintained schools 6,060 6,430 1,580 14,060 
			 City technology colleges 10 10 (6)— 10 
			 Academies 10 (6)— (6)— 10 
			  2005-06( 4,5) 
			 Maintained schools 6,640 6,180 1,470 14,300 
			 City technology colleges (6)— 10 (6)— 10 
			 Academies 20 10 (6)— 30 
			 (1) Academies were not introduced until 2003-04. (2) The effect of the change in the Teachers' Pension Scheme as from 31 August 1997 was that many more teachers took early retirement in 1997 than in previous years. Premature includes actuarially reduced benefit retirements from 2000-01. (3) Changes in the statutory regulations governing ill-health retirement came into force on 1 April 1997. To qualify for ill-health retirement benefits a teacher must now be regarded as permanently unfit to teach. (4) All years are subject to slight revision due to the addition of retrospective awards and suspension of pension benefits where teachers return to service. (5) 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 are provisional estimates. (6) Nil or negligible.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Pensioner Statistical System (PENSTATS)

Teaching Methods

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1026W, on teaching methods, what the size was of the effect on pupils' learning which was found by the research into the effectiveness of drawing connections between different subjects and areas; and whether the effect was statistically significant.

Jim Knight: Research suggesting that drawing connections between different subjects and areas of the curriculum is an effective approach which impacts on pupils' learning is part of a wider body of research work into the principles of effective teaching. An overall effect size for this approach is not currently available.
	For example, Ellis et al. (1996) conducted a research review to determine the principles of effective teaching. Ten principles were developed from the evidence base, of which one was teaching that highlights the similarities between topics and curriculum subjects. Askew et al. (1997) found that highly effective teachers of numeracy were those who, among other things, made connections between different areas of maths and different ideas in the same area of maths. Hall and Harding (2003) found that effective literacy teachers balanced direct teaching of basic literacy skills with wider, more contextually-grounded literacy activities, often linked with other curriculum areas.
	The full references are:
	Askew, M., Brown, M., Rhodes, V., Wiliam, D. and Johnson, D. (1997). "Effective teachers of numeracy". Final report. London; King's College London.
	Ellis, E.S., Worthington., L. A. and Larkin, MJ. (1996) "Research synthesis on effective teaching principles and the design of quality tools". Worthington National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators.
	Hall, K. and Harding, A. (2003) A systematic review of effective literacy teaching in the 4 to 14 age range of mainstream schooling. In: "Research Evidence in Education Library". London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education.

Truancy

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what definition his Department uses of truancy;
	(2)  what targets his Department has for reducing truancy.

Jim Knight: holding answer 23 March 2007
	Truancy is generally considered to be unjustified absence from school, usually without parental knowledge or consent.
	The Department does not set targets for reducing truancy because we are concerned about all forms of problem absence, including parentally condoned or encouraged absence, and because there is no satisfactory direct measure of truancy. Unauthorised absence is often taken to be a proxy for truancy, but it is an imperfect measure because it also includes lateness, some term time holidays and absence which parents have not yet explained. It is also well known that unauthorised absence tends to rise when schools take a tougher line on absence generally, as it has done in recent years, without necessarily reflecting any underlying increase in truancy.
	That is why the Department has moved away from focusing narrowly on rates of unauthorised absence. We are now focusing our efforts on reducing persistent absence, including persistent truancy, in schools where this problem is most acute and where a small minority of pupils miss significant amounts of their schooling. This is proving highly effective. Last year, our targeted challenge and support in 198 secondary schools helped to reduce the number of pupils in those schools with high levels of unauthorised absence by 27 per cent. to reduce the average rate of absence in those schools by 0.63 percentage points and the average rate of unauthorised absence by 0.89 percentage points.
	Building on that success, we are now focusing on providing challenge and support to 436 secondary schools with high levels of persistent absence.

Volunteering: Young People

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been raised from private sector supporters to assist in meeting the recommendations of the Russell Commission on Youth Volunteering.

Edward Miliband: I have been asked to reply.
	The independent charity v has, to date, received pledges of over £20 million in match fund projects through partnership with the private sector with £7.5 million matched on a pound-for-pound basis. The remaining pledges will be matched once suitable projects are identified and established. The match fund projects have created over 43,000 volunteering opportunities.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Shahid Malik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the re-offending rate is for individuals with an anti-social behaviour order in  (a) Dewsbury constituency and  (b) England and Wales.

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of individuals made subject to an anti-social behaviour order have since been convicted of a criminal offence.

Tony McNulty: ASBOs are civil orders and not an offender management tool so the information is not collected centrally.
	Numbers of ASBOs proved in court to have been breached are monitored centrally and these numbers together with breach rates are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Table BN2 (CJS area): ASBOs issued from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2005 that were breached at least once by end 2005 
			   ASBOs issued  
			  CJS area  Total  Of which: breached( 1)  Percentage breached 
			 Avon and Somerset 213 103 48 
			 Bedfordshire 82 32 39 
			 Cambridgeshire 96 34 35 
			 Cheshire 208 90 43 
			 Cleveland 115 74 64 
			 Cumbria 115 68 59 
			 Derbyshire 125 51 41 
			 Devon and Cornwall 177 53 30 
			 Dorset 77 51 66 
			 Durham 96 71 74 
			 Essex 149 81 54 
			 Gloucestershire 68 41 60 
			 Greater London 1,163 463 40 
			 Greater Manchester 1,227 686 56 
			 Hampshire 272 133 49 
			 Hertfordshire 145 54 37 
			 Humberside 236 100 42 
			 Kent 159 22 14 
			 Lancashire 357 176 49 
			 Leicestershire 120 59 49 
			 Lincolnshire 43 21 49 
			 Merseyside 300 136 45 
			 Norfolk 117 45 38 
			 Northamptonshire 84 9 11 
			 Northumbria 302 131 43 
			 North Yorkshire 91 41 45 
			 Nottinghamshire 255 109 43 
			 South Yorkshire 245 132 54 
			 Staffordshire 170 67 39 
			 Suffolk 165 65 39 
			 Surrey 110 48 44 
			 Sussex 245 121 49 
			 Thames Valley 162 70 43 
			 Warwickshire 87 48 55 
			 West Mercia 231 103 45 
			 West Midlands 776 373 48 
			 West Yorkshire 692 384 55 
			 Wiltshire 52 25 48 
			 Dyfed Powys 35 16 46 
			 Gwent 72 46 64 
			 North Wales 168 77 46 
			 South Wales 147 59 40 
			 Total England and Wales 9,749 4,568 47 
			 (1) ASBOs may be issued in one area and breached in another. Breaches are counted in this table in the area of issue.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Category D Prisoners

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders are in category D prisons in the UK, broken down by offence for which they were convicted.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the numbers of offenders held in open prisons in England and Wales as at 31 January 2007 can be found in the following table.
	
		
			  Offence group  Number 
			 Violence against the person 1,162 
			 Sexual offences 66 
			 Robbery 411 
			 Burglary 363 
			 Theft and handling 235 
			 Fraud and forgery 315 
			 Drug offences 1,123 
			 Motoring offences 123 
			 Other offences 320 
			 Offence not recorded 18 
			 Total 4,136 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems.
	Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

Passports: Cumbria

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department where he plans to locate passport interview centres in Cumbria.

Joan Ryan: holding answer 13 March 2007
	IPS plans to open an interview office in Carlisle and Kendal. A full list of the 69 proposed interview offices is available in the Library.

Passports: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passport applications were processed in Northern Ireland in each of the last six years; how many of those applications were  (a) granted and  (b) refused; and what the average time taken to process passport applications in Northern Ireland was over this period.

Joan Ryan: IPS have a single office in Northern Ireland, located in Belfast. This office processes applications for a catchment area which includes areas of the UK outside of Northern Ireland. Therefore the figures provided relate to the number of applications processed in Northern Ireland but do not represent the number of applications made by residents of Northern Ireland.
	Applications processed can have three outcomes:
	 Passed for issue
	The application was successful and approval was given for a passport to be issued.
	 Withdrawn
	The application for a passport was withdrawn prior to a final decision being made.
	 Failed
	The application failed and the applicant was not entitled to a passport.
	Table 1 displays the total number of passports processed within the Belfast office, broken down into the outcomes of passed for issue, withdrawn and failed.
	
		
			  Table 1: Belfast passport application outcomes 
			   Passed for issue  Withdrawn  Failed  Total 
			 2002 276,567 1,555 32 278,154 
			 2003 233,857 1,353 197 235,407 
			 2004 297,802 1,611 236 299,649 
			 2005 361,204 1,924 193 363,321 
			 2006 354,340 2,350 255 356,945 
		
	
	When processing passport applications IPS do not monitor the time taken to process applications which have errors or queries raised while being processed. These queries create a need for additional checks to take place and extend processing time due to requesting further information from the customer. For straightforward applications, those measured by the publicised 10 working day turnaround target, table 2 identifies the average turnaround time in days for the Belfast office.
	
		
			  Table 2: Belfast average turnaround in days for straight forward 
			   Average days 
			 2002 4.4 
			 2003 4.2 
			 2004 4.7 
			 2005 4.4 
			 2006 5.5

Police Custody

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were held in custody suites in each year since 2000.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prisoners have been held in police cells during 2002, 2006 and 2007.
	Between 11 July and 20 December 2002 prisoners were held in police cells under Operation Safeguard on a total of 28,650 occasions.
	Between 12 October and 22 December 2006 police custody under Operation Safeguard was used on 4,617 occasions.
	Operation Safeguard was reactivated on 22 January 2007. Between 22 January and 9 March it was used on 4,861 occasions.

Prisoners: Foreigners

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals in UK prisons are from  (a) outside the EU and  (b) within the EU; what categories of offences they have committed; what estimate he has made of the number to be deported once they leave prison; and what previous offences they had committed before entering the UK.

Gerry Sutcliffe: At the end of December 2006 there were  (a) 8,904 foreign national prisoners from outside the European Union and  (b) 2,290 foreign national prisoners from within the European Union detained in prison establishments in England and Wales. Information on the offence groups for the immediate custodial sentenced population of prisoners within prison establishments in England and Wales by nationality group can be found within the following table.
	All foreign nationals in custody have their sentences assessed in line with the guidance issued to IND and prisons on deportation matters. Those who meet the set criteria will be considered for deportation.
	Information about crimes committed by foreign nationals before they entered the UK is not routinely collected by the police. Requests for such information are made at the discretion of the investigating police force depending on operational need.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
	
		
			  Prison population( 1)  within England and Wales at 31 December 2006 by UK national, EU( 2)  and non-EU foreign national and offence group 
			   Unrecorded and other  United Kingdom  Non-EU  EU (non-UK)  Total 
			 Violence against the person 42 15,507 1,007 317 16,872 
			 Sexual offences 14 6,228 589 163 6,994 
			 Robbery 11 7,915 429 167 8,522 
			 Burglary 17 7,678 96 149 7,940 
			 Theft and handling 9 3,258 154 108 3,529 
			 Fraud and forgery 18 838 817 66 1,739 
			 Drug offences 28 8,034 2,119 499 10,680 
			 Motoring offences 8 1,389 74 47 1,518 
			 Other offences 13 5,102 405 169 5,690 
			 Offence not recorded 2 319 22 2 345 
			 All 161 56,268 5,711 1,687 63,828 
			 (1) Prison population under immediate custodial sentence shown. (2) European Union as at 31 December 2006 did not yet include Bulgaria and Romania who joined on 1 January 2007

Prisons: Islam

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what facilities Muslim worshippers are offered in prisons; and what the associated costs of such facilities were in each year since 2001.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service policy is to enable those prisoners who wish, to practise their religion. The Prison Service Performance Standard on Religion (number 51) and the Prison Service Order on Religion (4550) sets out the more detailed policy and includes specific information on the provision necessary for the practice of the main world faiths, including Islam. Copies of Prison Service Orders are kept in the House Library and both Prison Service Orders and Performance Standards are also published on the Prison Service website (www.hmprisons.gov.uk). The requested information on costs is not available.

Prisons: Islam

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons employ an Imam; and how much each is paid.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service establishments that currently employ Muslim chaplains are detailed in the following list. Other establishments will use Muslim chaplains on a fee-paid basis. Chaplains in the public sector Prison Service are paid in two pay-bands with pay (excluding allowances) ranging from £19,680 to £35,799. Each private contractor has different rates of pay within the range £25,000 to £38,000.
	 Prisons in England and W ales directly employing Muslim c haplains
	Altcourse
	Aylesbury
	Bedford
	Belmarsh
	Birmingham
	Blakenhurst
	Brixton
	Bronzefield
	Buckley Hall
	Bullingdon
	Cardiff
	Channings Wood(1)
	Coldingley
	Doncaster
	Dovegate
	Dover
	Elmley(1)
	Featherstone
	Feltham
	Forest Bank
	Frankland
	Full Sutton
	Highpoint
	Hindley
	Leicester
	Lincoln
	Lindholme
	Liverpool
	Lowdham Grange
	Manchester
	Moorland
	Nottingham
	Pentonville
	Peterborough
	Portland(1)
	Reading
	Risley
	Rye Hill
	Standford Hill(1)
	Swaleside
	Swinfen Hall
	The Mount
	The Verne(1)
	Thorn Cross
	Wakefield
	Wandsworth
	Whitemoor
	Wolds
	Woodhill
	Wormwood Scrubs
	(1) Muslim chaplain covers more than one establishment.

Safer Stronger Communities Fund

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the projected funding allocation for the Safer Stronger Communities Fund is in each of the next two financial years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 9 March 2007
	The Safer and Stronger Communities Fund forms part of the core funding for local area agreements in England, wherever they have been agreed. In 2007-08 this will include Home Office funding that was previously identified as: Building Safer Communities Fund; Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator Grant; Drug Strategy Partnership Support Grant; Anti-Social Behaviour Action Areas and Trailblazer. The detail of the allocations for 2007-08 will be announced shortly.

Sexual Offences

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many registered sex offenders are subject to multi-agency public protection arrangements.

Gerry Sutcliffe: All offenders who are subject to the notification requirements placed on sex offenders (registered sex offenders) are also subject to the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). Since 2002, the number of registered sex offenders has been published in the MAPPA Annual Report for each area of England and Wales. In the 2005-06 reports, the latest year of publication, 29,976 registered sex offenders were shown as living in the community across England and Wales as at 31 March 2006. The reports are available in the House Libraries and on the internet at:
	http://www.probation.homeoffice.gov.uk/output/page30.asp

Young Offenders: Secure Accommodation

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the maximum population capacity is of each  (a) secure children's home,  (b) secure training centre and  (c) young offender institution; what the current population is of each; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 8 March 2007
	The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Operation capacity of under-18 custodial establishments and occupancy as at 2 March 2007 
			  Establishment  Operational capacity( 1)  Custodial population at 2 March 2007 
			 Ashfield YOI 400 330 
			 Brinsford YOI 224 155 
			 Castington YOI 168 149 
			 Cookham Wood YOI 17 6 
			 Down view YOI 16 11 
			 Eastwood Park YOI 16 11 
			 Feltham YOI 240 219 
			 Foston Hall YOI 16 11 
			 Hindley YOI 192 134 
			 Huntercombe YOI 360 286 
			 Lancaster Farms YOI 250 227 
			 New Hall YOI 26 20 
			 Parc YOI 64 25 
			 Stoke Heath YOI 202 192 
			 Thorn Cross YOI 70 29 
			 Warren Hill YOI 222 198 
			 Werrington YOI 160 130 
			 Wetherby YOI 360 271 
			 Hassockfield STC 58 54 
			 Medway STC 76 65 
			 Oakhill STC 80 52 
			 Rainsbrook STC 87 83 
			 Aldine SCH 5 5 
			 Atkinson Unit SCH 10 6 
			 Aycliffe SCH 30 29 
			 Barton Moss SCH 20 20 
			 Clayfields House SCH 12 12 
			 Dyson House SCH 16 13 
			 East Moor SCH 34 24 
			 Hillside SCH 14 11 
			 Kyloe House SCH 3 1 
			 Lincolnshire SCH 7 7 
			 Orchard Lodge SCH 18 18 
			 Red Bank SCH 28 26 
			 Sutton Place SCH 8 7 
			 Swanwick Lodge SCH 10 9 
			 Vinney Green SCH 20 18 
			  3,539 2,864 
			 (1) This indicates general capacity. Actual availability may differ from day to day, for example because rooms have been damaged.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Departments: BAE Systems

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2007,  Official Report, column 630W, on Departments: BAE Systems, if he will request the permission of the two individuals to list the details on his Department's security pass system.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department will make contact with BAE Systems with this request. Accordingly I will reply directly to my hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk in due course and place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of the House.

Departments: Work Permits

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many work permits were applied for by his Department and its agencies in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department of Trade and Industry and its agencies do not apply for work permits. However, it is part of our standard pre-employment checks at recruitment stage to ensure that staff applying to be employed within the Department and its agencies have a work permit, where appropriate, before they are employed. Information on how many staff may have work permits is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of companies that manufacture, import or re-brand electrical and electronic equipment have registered with a producer compliance scheme in accordance with Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Producer compliance schemes have until 31 March 2007 to register their members with the appropriate environment agency. Figures are therefore not yet available on how many companies have joined producer compliance schemes.

Members: Correspondence

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to answer Question 124806, on ministerial visits, tabled by the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton on 2 March 2007.

Alistair Darling: holding answer 22 March 2007
	I answered the hon. Member's question on 19 March 2007,  Official Report, column 625W.

Patents: EC Law

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the use of English in the development of a common community patent.

Malcolm Wicks: UK Ministers and officials have had ongoing discussions with the European Commission and others, following the consultation launched by the Commission in 2006 on the Community Patent and other initiatives to improve the European patent system. The UK is committed to a business-friendly Community patent which imposes minimal burdens due to translations. A Community patent which is too burdensome will not be used by industry and, in a Europe with more than 20 official languages, full translation of Community patents will clearly impose high costs. We therefore hope that a reduced- or single-language solution can be found for the Community patent. However, language is understandably a highly sensitive issue, and a solution must be found which is acceptable to our European partners.

Patents: EC Law

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on progress towards the development of a community patent for the European Union.

Malcolm Wicks: Negotiations on a Community patent have been ongoing for a number of decades, and have been complicated by questions around language and jurisdiction. As the European Commission Consultation in 2006 noted, there appears no imminent prospect of achieving the unanimity required in order to establish a community patent.
	The consultation aimed to find near term steps to improve the patent system in Europe that would help us to make progress towards the long term goal of a community patent. We anticipate that the Commission will publish its communication on those next steps over the coming few months.

Patents: EC Law

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the status is of the 2000 London Agreement on European patent translation costs.

Malcolm Wicks: UK has ratified the London Agreement along with eight other states including Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands; Sweden and Denmark have made parliamentary commitments to ratify in due course. The agreement will enter into force three months after ratification by the French Government. When the London Agreement enters into force it is estimated to almost halve the translation costs that must currently be paid to patent in Europe. A French parliament report in 2006 recommended ratification, and the agreement has been ruled compatible with the French constitution, but the French Government have not yet indicated their intention to ratify.

Post Office: Contracts

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any Post Office Limited services  (a) are and  (b) are planned to go out to tender.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. Alan Cook, the managing director, has been asked to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Post Offices: Consultation Papers

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff have been deployed  (a) to record and  (b) to analyse the responses to the Post Office Network consultation.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Some 50 members of staff have been available to deal with the handling of responses to the consultation document.
	A team of eight officials are involved in reviewing the consultation responses.

Post Offices: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices closed in each parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997; and how many of these were  (a) urban and  (b) rural post offices.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. Alan Cook, the managing director, has been asked to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Pregnant Women: Discrimination

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research has been  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated by his Department on discrimination against pregnant women since June 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI commissioned the Maternity and Paternity Rights and Benefits In Britain Survey 2005, published in March 2006, which asked women about the treatment they received during their pregnancy.
	Government keeps abreast of other research on pregnancy discrimination.

Renewable Energy

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the merits of replacing a system of grants to encourage people to take on renewable energy and energy efficiency with one of targeted loans connected to council tax discounts for homeowners who have taken energy efficiency measures.

Malcolm Wicks: The Chancellor keeps national tax matters under review through the Budget and pre-Budget report processes. However, some local authorities have implemented council tax discount schemes for local residents who invest in energy-saving installations. The Government's current assessment is that the Energy Efficiency Commitment, under which major energy suppliers have to reach targets for installing energy efficiency measures in their customers' homes, offers a flexible and cost-effective means of encouraging take-up of insulation and other improvements that reduce both energy bills and UK carbon emissions over time. It also allows targeting of vulnerable groups. The Government are committed to continuing an energy supplier obligation until at least 2020. As announced at the 2006 pre-Budget report, the Government are examining finance models that best support the Energy Efficiency Commitment and encourage take-up of energy efficiency measures and energy audits.
	In relation to the stimulation of renewable energy use by householders, the Microgeneration Strategy
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sources/sustainable/microgeneration/strategy/page27594.html
	sets out a series of measures aimed at boosting demand to help achieve the economies of scale that will lead to costs falling and negate the need for capital grants.
	Key measures that will help to achieve this include:
	making it easier for microgenerators to access Renewable Obligation Certificates;
	working with energy suppliers to ensure that microgenerators receive a fair reward for exported electricity;
	a robust accreditation scheme (to build trust in the industry);
	local authorities requiring new developments to source a percentage of energy requirements from onsite renewable sources (while not in the strategy itself, the Housing Minister made a statement that she expected all local authorities to develop such requirements following work undertaken in relation to the strategy);
	the removal of unnecessary controls in the consents regime (which regulates a wide range of developments by householders).

Research: Finance

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many research projects have had their funding ended due to the changes of criteria announced by Research Councils UK in October 2006.

Malcolm Wicks: None. Research projects under way when Research Councils made their announcement on the criteria for eligibility for funding on October 2006 have proceeded unaffected.

Research: Finance

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the likely impact on scientific research projects of the recent changes of criteria for research funding.

Malcolm Wicks: Last October the Research Councils clarified their arrangements for eligibility to apply for Research Council funding. Those eligible include UK higher education institutions, Research Council institutes and independent research organisations. Further information is available from the Research Councils UK website.
	These arrangements introduce helpful coherence and should strengthen the value obtained overall from this funding.

TREASURY

Digital Broadcasting

Peter Luff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2007,  Official Report, column 2225W, on digital broadcasting, on what basis he was able to announce in his financial statement a figure for the income from the sale of assets including the auction of spectrum; how much of this figure he announced derives from this auction; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Budget speech announced expected asset sales of £36 billion between 2006-07 and 2010-11. This £36 billion comprises fixed and financial asset sales, including student loan and public corporation sales. No assumption has been made for proceeds deriving from the sale of the spectrum in this estimate.

Mortgages: Advisory Services

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many mortgage advisers are regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Edward Balls: Statistics published by the Financial Services Authority show that there were 6,846 regulated mortgage intermediary firms at the end of December 2006.
	These data are available at:
	http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/About/Teams/Retail/statistics/mortgage/index.shtml

Olympic Games: Greater London

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated cost is of the VAT on the consultation on facilities for the Olympics; and what percentage of this revenue will be passed to the EU.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the statement made to the House by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on 15 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 450-66. Details of how the UK's contribution to the EC budget is determined are included in the 2006 European Community Finances White Paper (Cm 6770).

Parliamentary Questions

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions he has circulated guidance to other Departments in the last 12 months following the tabling of round-robin written parliamentary questions.

John Healey: In its response to the Third Report of Session 2003-04 from the Public Administration Select Committee, the Government made clear that while individual Departments may liaise with each other when they receive the same question, this co-ordination
	"does not cut across the line of ministerial accountability which is that it is for individual Ministers to decide on the final content of an answer to a Parliamentary Question".
	The Treasury has provided advice to other Government Departments on this basis.

Stamp Duties

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether stamp duty is charged on Social Homebuy purchases;
	(2)  whether stamp duty will be levied on tenants taking out a 10 per cent. equity share under the proposals for reform of the Social Homebuy scheme;
	(3)  whether  (a) the social tenant and  (b) the social landlord is liable to pay stamp duty under the Social Homebuy scheme.

Edward Balls: Stamp duty is paid by the purchaser of an interest in land. Purchasers of a share in a property under Social Homebuy are liable to pay stamp duty on the same basis as other shared ownership purchasers. This means that they can, if they wish, elect to pay stamp duty once and for all on the market value of the property, less Social Homebuy discount. Otherwise, they will pay stamp duty on the amount they pay for the initial share of the property. In this case, purchases of further shares up to 80 per cent. are exempt but they will have to pay stamp duty on the purchase of a final share, including the freehold reversion.
	Outright purchases under Social Homebuy attract stamp duty on the same basis as a Right to Buy/Right to Acquire purchase: that is, on the price paid for the property, less Social Homebuy discount.

Stamp Duties

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average stamp duty paid on a right to buy sale was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Edward Balls: The average stamp duty land tax paid on right to buy transactions in 2005-06 was estimated at £200. The average includes transactions which paid no stamp duty land tax either because the price of the property was below the stamp duty land tax threshold, or because of disadvantaged area relief.

Stamp Duties

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the projected annual cost of introducing zero stamp duty for zero carbon homes in each of the next 10 years.

Edward Balls: As reported in the Financial Statement and Budget report published on 21 March, the annual cost of the stamp duty exemption is projected to be negligible (defined as less than £3 million) in each year of the fiscal years 2007-08 to 2009-10 and to rise to £15 million in 2011-12.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Building Regulations: Wales

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to transfer responsibility for building regulations in Wales from her Department to the Welsh Assembly Government.

Angela Smith: The National Assembly for Wales has made an approach to this Department requesting that the ability to make building regulations for Wales be transferred to the Welsh Assembly Government. Officials from my Department and the Welsh Assembly Government will shortly be meeting to identify and discuss the issues that would arise from any such transfer.

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she has any plans to bring forward a statutory requirement for planning authorities to take account of the recommendations of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.

Yvette Cooper: We have no current plans to make the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) a statutory consultee in the planning process. However, my Department intends to consult on a review of statutory consultees later this year, and it will be open to respondents to make a case for change at that time. CABE does however already play an important role as a non-statutory consultee in the planning process.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government actively encourages all local planning authorities to consult CABE about significant applications in their areas and our chief planner wrote to all chief planning officers in December 2006 reminding them of the circumstances under which they should seek CABE's advice.
	A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Under the existing non-statutory consultation arrangements, we encourage and support CABE to work directly with architects, planners, designers, developers and clients to offer guidance on projects. CABE makes this guidance available in a number of ways, including the provision of a free expert design review service, which offers independent assessment of schemes. Design review considers 350 major development proposals each year, over 80 per cent. of which are altered in light of its comments.
	The current arrangements seek to ensure that CABE's resource is directed at influencing the quality of the most significant schemes, which we consider the best use of its capacity and expertise.

Community Development: Expenditure

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what public expenditure has been to date on the millennium communities scheme.

Yvette Cooper: There are seven millennium communities. Greenwich Millennium Village was the first to be announced in 1997. The others are at Allerton Bywater (near Leeds), New Islington (east Manchester), South Lynn (Kings Lynn), East Ketley (Telford), Oakgrove (Milton Keynes) and Hastings. In total the programme will bring forward over 9,000 eco-home 'Excellent' standard homes, plus other commercial and community facilities, providing inspiration to both the development industry and the general house-buying public and demonstrating how difficult sites can be brought back into use.
	It is not possible to identify the costs linked only to the millennium communities themselves. To date, public expenditure related to the programme amounts to a total of £131,565,732. This figure covers costs outside those that relate specifically to the seven millennium communities, because it is not possible to disaggregate costs retrospectively. It therefore includes elements of the remediation cost of the wider English Partnerships' 121 ha (300 acre) Greenwich peninsula site and not just the costs for the 13 ha (32 acre) section that is the Greenwich Millennium Village itself. The Greenwich Peninsula was previously the site of the largest gas works in Europe, and is one of the largest development sites in London and one of Europe's biggest regeneration projects.
	This expenditure by English Partnerships on the millennium communities will be offset by receipts as the land is sold through the usual competitive arrangements to the preferred developer on each site.

Council Housing: Heating

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will estimate  (a) the number of properties in local council or housing association ownership covered by district heating schemes and  (b) the energy use per inhabitant in such schemes; whether it is her intention (i) to make proposals and (ii) to provide incentives to improve the energy efficiency of housing not covered by such schemes; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column: 300W, which provide information about the number of homes covered by district heating systems and the energy use of inhabitants.
	To make their homes decent social landlords have to ensure homes have both efficient heating and effective insulation, and this is regardless of the type of heating system currently in the home. The Department's guidance "A Decent Home: Definition and guidance for implementation" encourages landlords to increase the energy efficiency of dwellings.
	Research conducted by the Building Research Establishment indicated that almost all landlords engaged in energy efficiency works are taking the opportunity to work to much higher standards than the minimum required by Decent Homes.
	Under the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC), electricity and gas suppliers are required to achieve targets for the promotion of improvements in domestic energy efficiency which includes social sector homes.

Council Tax: Boats

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will consider reducing the council tax payable for people who live in boats on marinas where the owner of the marina pays business rates; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 23 March 2007
	No. A mooring occupied by a boat which is somebody's sole or main residence is deemed to be a dwelling for council tax purposes and will therefore attract a council tax liability in the same way as other domestic property, along with any discounts or exemptions that may apply.

Departments: Trade Unions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many meetings  (a) she and  (b) her Department's Ministers held with trade union representatives in 2006.

Angela Smith: Ministers and civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and advice. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings

Empty Housing: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of long-term empty homes in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex.

Yvette Cooper: At October 2005 there were an estimated 5,194 long term vacant homes in East Sussex. At October 2005 Eastbourne district council reported a total of 1,568 long-term vacant homes.
	These figures are based on long-term vacant homes, empty for more than six months as reported by local authorities in the Council Tax Base return (CTB1).
	Local councils in East Sussex now have new powers they can use to bring long-term empty homes into use where appropriate.

Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timescale is for the implementation of the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 will come into force on 30 April, at the same time as parallel protections on grounds of religion or belief. From this date on, individuals will have a legal remedy to discrimination on these grounds through the county courts in England and Wales or the Sheriff courts in Scotland.
	The new regulations provide for a transition period for faith based adoption and fostering agencies until the end of 2008. Any agency wishing to take advantage of the transitional arrangements will have to refer prospective parents they are not prepared to assess on grounds of their sexual orientation to other agencies that will be able to assist. The Prime Minister will be commissioning this May an independent assessment process of the issues agencies will need to address during the transition period, if vital services for children are to be retained and developed. The assessment team will give their first report to the PM before the summer, followed by regular six monthly reports.
	Detailed guidance on the implementation of both new sets of protections will also be published in May, after the forthcoming elections. When the Commission for Equality and Human Rights opens its doors this October, it will offer further information, advice and support.

Fire Services

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to improve the protection of firemen in Lancashire from  (a) physical and  (b) verbal attacks when at work.

Angela Smith: The Department has published on its website good practice guidance on tackling violence at work.
	On 20 February 2007, the Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006 came into force. This Act, which specifically includes firefighters, makes it an offence to obstruct or hinder an emergency worker responding to emergency circumstances, punishable by fines of up to £5,000.

Fire Services: Bullying

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many reported incidents of bullying there were in the Lancashire fire service in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: Centrally held information, based on annual returns from Lancashire fire and rescue service, on the number of complaints of harassment, bullying or discrimination in Lancashire fire and rescue service is tabled as follows, from the earliest available year which is 1998.
	
		
			   Uniformed  Non uniformed  Total 
			 1998-99 8 0 8 
			 1999-2000 5 2 7 
			 2000-01 8 1 9 
			 2001-02 4 0 4 
			 2002-03 4 1 5 
			 2003-04 6 3 9 
			 2004-05 14 0 14 
			 2005-06 2 2 4

Fire Services: Inspections

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the transfer of responsibility for fire service inspection to the Audit Commission.

Angela Smith: Responsibility for fire service inspection was transferred to the Audit Commission following the publication of the Government's White Paper "Our Fire and Rescue Service" in June 2003 and the subsequent Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. Since that time, Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate has not carried out any inspections of Fire and Rescue Authorities but has acted as an advisory body providing the Government, the Audit Commission and fire and rescue authorities with advice on professional fire service matters.
	The Audit Commission conducted a Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) of fire and rescue authorities and reported on their findings in July 2005. This assessment set a baseline for improvement in all fire and rescue authorities and the Audit Commission has subsequently developed a performance assessment framework for the service to measure improvement since CPA. This performance assessment framework consists of three elements—a direction of travel assessment, a use of resources assessment and a service assessment. The service assessment included an operational assessment, developed in conjunction with the Chief Fire Officers Association, and carried out by Fire and Rescue staff seconded into CLG for that purpose. Results of these assessments for 2006-07 are due to be published shortly.

Fire Services: Violence

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many duty firemen in Lancashire were subjected to  (a) physical violence and  (b) verbal abuse in each of the last 10 years; and how many convictions there were for (i) physical violence and (ii) verbal abuse towards firemen in Lancashire in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: The Department has been maintaining records of attacks on firefighters since April 2004, although it is not held specifically in the form requested. The total number of attacks on firefighters in Lancashire since 2004, based on returns from Lancashire fire and rescue service is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of attacks 
			 2004 6 
			 2005 24 
			 2006 41 
			 2007 to date 1 
		
	
	The Department does not collect information on the number of convictions.

Freeholds

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures have been introduced to strengthen regulation concerned with  (a) freeholds and leaseholds,  (b) the relationship between landlords and tenants and  (c) ground rents since 1997; and what plans she has to introduce further measures affecting these matters.

Yvette Cooper: The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 introduced a number of measures that made changes to leasehold legislation. These have helped redress the balance between leaseholders and landlords by strengthening and improving the law, and creating a fairer and more comprehensive system of rights for leaseholders. These measures include the requirement for landlords to serve a particular form of notice on leaseholders before ground rent becomes payable.
	We continue to work on the remaining provisions of the 2002 Act which will further improve the rights that leaseholders have. We will introduce them at the earliest opportunity.

Home Information Packs

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will produce an updated regulatory impact assessment for the implementation of home information packs.

Yvette Cooper: Yes.

Hostels: Finance

Andrew Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what reports she has received of the effects of changes in  (a) revenue funding and  (b) numbers of bed spaces on the submission of bids by charities and registered social landlords for funding under the hostels capital improvement programme.

Yvette Cooper: Since the launch of the hostels capital improvement programme in December 2004 I have received update reports from my officials regarding the programme on a regular basis. We are not aware of any particular problems with revenue funding or bedspaces and my officials continue to closely monitor progress.
	One of the criteria for funding under the hostels capital improvement programme (HCIP) is that there is agreed supporting people or other revenue funding to ensure that high quality support services are continued as capital works are completed. As regards bedspaces, hostel residents are housed elsewhere during building work and there has been no identified impact on the numbers of people sleeping rough.

Hostels: Finance

Andrew Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to extend the Hostels Capital Improvement Programme beyond 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The current £90 million Hostels Capital Improvement Programme runs through until March 2008. Future investment under the programme will be dependent on the comprehensive spending review which is under way.

Housing

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many long-term empty private sector properties there were in  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas in each year since 1980; what each figure represents (i) per 1,000 of the population and (ii) per 1,000 households; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Information on long term private vacancies (over six months) is only available on a consistent basis back to the year 2000.
	Long term vacancies are tabulated below by urban and rural local authorities:
	
		
			  Long term private vacancies (over six months) by urban and rural local authorities( 1) 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  Total number of private vacant dwellings 
			 Rural 91,300 108,100 104,500 108,500 92,300 108,300 93,300 
			 Urban 187,600 202,100 203,300 199,900 205,400 179,800 195,500 
			 Total 278,900 310,200 307,800 308,400 297,700 288,100 288,300 
			 
			  Number of private vacant dwellings per 1,000 households( 2) 
			 Rural 12 14 14 14 12 14 12 
			 Urban 15 15 15 15 15 13 14 
			 Total 14 15 15 15 14 14 13 
			  Number of private vacant dwellings per 1,000 population( 2) 
			 Rural 5 6 6 6 5 6 5 
			 Urban 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 
			 Total 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 
			 (1) Based on the DEFRA rural definition (2004).  (2) 2003 household/population projections and estimates.   Source:  Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix 
		
	
	Since long term private vacancies are not available on a consistent basis prior to 2000, total private vacancies (long and short term) are tabulated in the following table by urban and rural local authorities every five years since 1981 to provide a long term view. The table shows that the number of private vacant dwellings per 1,000 households in rural local authorities has fallen since 1991, with a larger fall between 1996 and 2006. Vacancy rates have also fallen in urban areas since 1996.
	
		
			  Total private vacancies (long and short term) by urban and rural local authorities( 1) 
			   1981  1986  1991  1996  2001  2006 
			  Total number of private vacant dwellings 
			 Rural 198,900 206,300 241,800 239,500 219,900 204,700 
			 Urban 307,000 348,700 396,400 427,800 402,700 381,100 
			 Total 505,900 554,800 638,200 667,300 622,600 585,900 
			
			  Number of private vacant dwellings per 1,000 household( 2) 
			 Rural 34 33 36 34 30 26 
			 Urban 27 30 32 34 31 28 
			 Total 29 31 33 34 30 27 
			
			  Number of private vacant dwellings per 1,000 population( 2) 
			 Rural 12 12 14 14 12 11 
			 Urban 10 11 13 14 13 12 
			 Total 11 12 13 14 13 12 
			 1 Based on the DEFRA rural definition (2004)  2 2003 Household/Population Projections and Estimates   Source:  Housing strategy statistical appendix

Housing

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what areas housing targets have been set; what target has been set for each area; and what the  (a) size and  (b) population is of each area.

Yvette Cooper: Regional spatial strategies include housing provision figures for constituent housing market and local planning authority areas for each region, except in London, where they are set out in the spatial development strategy (The London Plan). All regional spatial strategies are currently in the process of being revised.

Housing Data Warehouse

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 19 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1354W, on the Housing Data Warehouse, whether the council tax valuation list data being provided by the Valuation Office Agency will include the details of the council tax banding of  (a) individual properties,  (b) neighbourhoods/market areas,  (c) super-output areas and  (d) sub-sets thereof.

Phil Woolas: (a) yes;  (b),  (c) and  (d) no.

Housing Data Warehouse

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 20 February 2007,  Official Report, column 582W, on the Housing Data Warehouse, 
	(1)  what the estimated  (a) set-up costs and  (b) running costs are of the Housing Data Warehouse;
	(2)  which Departments and Government agencies will have access to the Housing Data Warehouse;
	(3)  what the live date is for the Housing Data Warehouse.

Angela Smith: The estimated costs of the Housing Data Warehouse are £9,000 for set up and £3,000 annual running costs. These are negligible because it runs on the existing IT infrastructure.
	The Housing Data Warehouse will be directly accessible only from within Communities and Local Government. There are no plans to extend direct access to other Government Departments.
	In respect of the data contained in the Housing Data Warehouse I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 8 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1571W.

Housing Revenue Accounts

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to reform housing revenue accounts to allow local authorities to keep more of their rental income.

Yvette Cooper: Housing Revenue Account (HRA) subsidy is based on a notional measure of authorities' income (which is mainly rents) and expenditure. If need to spend is assumed to be greater than assumed income, then the authority is assumed to have a deficit and HRA subsidy is paid to the authority to make up that shortfall. If the assumed income is greater than the assumed need to spend, this negative subsidy is captured, recycled within the HRA subsidy system and used to help pay for the subsidy entitlement of the deficit authorities. Even with this recycling, in the most recent year for which audited data are available (2005-06), the Exchequer still made an annual contribution of over £200 million.
	Surpluses (and deficits) are not related to the efficiency of a council in operating its HRA. Surpluses rarely, if ever, occur where the need to spend is greatest; if those authorities that make surpluses retained them this would, within the total funding levels agreed, mean reduced subsidies and therefore higher rents, for all those authorities with a deficit. The alternative would be higher taxes or cuts in services. The surpluses that are being generated by some authorities also come from housing that has largely been funded by central Government.
	My Department is currently working with a group of local authorities to investigate the potential benefits, in terms of asset management, efficiency and better outcomes, of allowing some councils to leave the subsidy system. Self financing would involve a one-off settlement to replace future subsidy or surplus payments. As such, it would not be a means for surplus authorities to have a larger share of overall housing resources.

Housing: Construction

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1800W, how many dwellings were  (a) permitted and  (b) built in (i) England, (ii) Hampshire and (iii) each (A) district, (B) borough and (C) unitary authority in Hampshire in each year since 2003.

Yvette Cooper: Information on the dwellings granted planning permission is not held centrally.
	The following numbers of dwellings were built in England, Hampshire and each district in Hampshire since 2003-04:
	
		
			  New build completions in England, Hampshire and Hampshire districts 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 England 143,958 155,893 163,398 
			 Hampshire 5,891 6,107 6,472 
			 Basingstoke and Deane 740 729 910 
			 East Hampshire 399 443 329 
			 Eastleigh 489 829 681 
			 Fareham 270 193 327 
			 Gosport 443 185 345 
			 Hart 516 531 495 
			 Havant 197 142 229 
			 New Forest 487 504 382 
			 Portsmouth UA 512 457 630 
			 Rushmoor 137 491 423 
			 Southampton UA 573 792 860 
			 Test Valley 473 220 333 
			 Winchester 487 533 481 
			  Note:  Hampshire level figures include estimates for missing or partial LA returns. LA figures are as reported.  Source:  P2 Housebuilding return as reported by local authorities and National Housebuilding Council.

Housing: Disabled

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to ensure that sufficient funding is available through the disability facilities grant to ensure recommendations made following visits by occupational therapists to those who face access issues are implemented.

Yvette Cooper: Under the disabled facilities grant (DFG) programme it is for the local housing authority to assess the need of a disabled person for housing adaptations in the light of the mandatory entitlements to assistance set out in section 23 of the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. The housing authority must also judge whether any work to a dwelling is reasonable or practicable having regard to its age and condition.
	The grant is also means tested and subject to a maximum limit of £25,000.
	The housing authority will normally take expert advice from an occupational therapist in order to assess the need of the disabled person but the grant award under DFG must take account of all of the provisions of the DFG legislation as described.
	The Department provides ring-fenced funding to local authorities to support the expenditure incurred by them in delivering the DFG programme. In 2007-08 £126 million was made available from this Department for authorities in England. Local authorities are required to find the remainder of funding from their own resources to fulfil their statutory obligations.

Housing: Finance

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate the Government have made of the net deficit or surplus of housing revenue accountable authorities following the 2007-08 housing subsidy determination.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 19 March 2007
	The 2007-08 HRA Subsidy Determination calculates allowances that each local authority will receive and also makes assumptions on notional rental income. But to calculate the subsidy entitlement that a local authority will receive from, or pay out to, the Exchequer other authority-specific factors are required such as the average rate of interest on their borrowing. These specific factors are only applied when the local authority makes their claims for subsidy during 2007-08. We will not have a final audited subsidy figure for 2007-08 for each local authority until 2009. The most up-to-date audited actual subsidy entitlement figures we have are for 2005-06.

Housing: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable houses were built in  (a) the London borough of Havering and  (b) Romford in each year since 2001.

Yvette Cooper: The numbers of affordable homes provided in the London borough of Havering in each financial year since 2000-01 are tabled as follows. The numbers of affordable homes provided in Romford are not readily available. Figures include both new build and acquisitions.
	
		
			  Affordable homes provided: Havering 
			   Number of homes 
			 2000-01 38 
			 2001-02 197 
			 2002-03 59 
			 2003-04 112 
			 2004-05 154 
			 2005-06 147 
			  Note:  Affordable housing includes social rent, low cost home ownership and other sub-market rental products.  Source:  Housing Corporation, local authority statistical returns.

Housing: Leasehold

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to review the marriage value on properties where the lease has less than 80 years to run; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 amended the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 so that marriage value would be disregarded where the unexpired term of the existing lease exceeds 80 years. For existing leases where the unexpired term is 80 years or less, marriage value is split 50/50 between the leaseholder and the landlord. We have no current plans to review the way marriage value is treated.

Housing: Low Incomes

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were built in each London borough as a result of section 106 agreements in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: The numbers of affordable homes provided in each London borough as a result of a section 106 agreement in each of the last five years are tabled as follows. Figures include both new build and acquisitions.
	
		
			  Affordable homes provided through section 106 agreements: London 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 98 0 135 42 168 
			 Barnet 25 59 74 111 66 
			 Bexley 0 30 4 0 12 
			 Brent 260 228 168 78 11 
			 Bromley 4 188 11 191 138 
			 Camden 22 39 9 128 133 
			 Croydon 37 84 67 121 130 
			 Ealing 66 204 225 132 284 
			 Enfield 72 116 1 66 26 
			 Greenwich 78 116 550 262 336 
			 Hackney (1)— 302 (1)— (1)— 182 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 0 168 381 300 57 
			 Haringey 85 173 (1)— 284 23 
			 Harrow 37 102 105 78 122 
			 Havering 95 65 32 53 76 
			 Hillingdon 64 86 60 63 58 
			 Hounslow 42 67 160 135 118 
			 Islington 2 156 65 44 405 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 11 59 34 0 66 
			 Kingston upon Thames 25 12 18 153 18 
			 Lambeth 86 147 332 257 224 
			 Lewisham 0 39 0 55 232 
			 Merton 22 58 12 165 37 
			 Newham 6 14 86 8 388 
			 Redbridge 177 194 180 53 323 
			 Richmond upon Thames 42 9 104 167 2 
			 Southwark 10 66 43 36 166 
			 Sutton 26 57 9 135 195 
			 Tower Hamlets 151 106 367 184 449 
			 Waltham Forest 8 50 0 77 120 
			 Wandsworth 39 80 (1)— 59 102 
			 Westminster 139 62 79 165 186 
			 London 1,847 3,136 3,840 3,676 4,853 
			 (1) Data are missing.  Notes:  1. Local authority areas do not always sum to their regional totals due to imputed figures which are only included at the regional level.  2. Figures include both new build and acquisitions.  3. Affordable homes include social rent, low cost homeownership and other sub market rental products.  4. Figures include homes funded solely or partially through section 106 agreements.  Source:  Local authority statistical returns.

Housing: Low Incomes

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to classify low-cost housing developed by the private sector for non-social tenants as affordable housing for planning policy purposes.

Yvette Cooper: Affordable housing is defined in "Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing" published in November last year. The Government adopted this new definition, which includes social rented and intermediate housing, because we wished to ensure that developer contributions were used to help provide genuinely affordable housing for households in need over the longer term. The definition can include homes provided by private sector bodies.
	Local planning authorities should plan for the full range of market housing. In particular, they should take account of the need to deliver low-cost market housing as part of the housing mix.

Housing: Low Incomes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the availability of affordable or social rented housing on political extremism.

Yvette Cooper: Communities and Local Government is currently engaged in examining the means by which we monitor the impact of policies on cohesion and extremism, including those relating to housing.
	The role of housing in contributing to community cohesion is one of several matters being considered by the independent Commission on Integration and Cohesion, which is due to report in June 2007.

Housing: Meters

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with colleagues in the Department  (a) of Trade and Industry and  (b) for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the inclusion of smart-enabled meters in new build houses.

Yvette Cooper: The Department for Communities and Local Government has had a number of exchanges with colleagues in the Departments  (a) of Trade and Industry and  (b) for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in relation to the Energy White Paper and the energy performance in buildings directive. The Government will set out their views on metering in the forthcoming Energy White Paper.

Housing: Prices

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average house price was in each Government office region in England in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: Data for monthly mix-adjusted house prices by Government office region are published as Live Table 592 on the Communities and Local Government website at http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/165/Table592_id1156165.xls. The most recent data for January 2007 were published on 12 March 2007.
	Sub market sales including right-to-buy sales are excluded from the figures.

Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what factors were taken into account when deciding that Supporting People agencies should be able to require efficiency savings of home improvement agencies.

Phil Woolas: Individual Supporting People administering authorities, not "Supporting People agencies", are responsible for the local delivery of Supporting People services including Home Improvement Agencies (HIAs). Authorities manage this by establishing contracts with service providers, and they are responsible for managing their funding and so for delivering on any efficiencies that are required.
	Communities and Local Government is developing a Supporting People national value improvement programme from 2008 in which all Supporting People authorities will be encouraged to adopt improved commissioning and procurement practices to help to further improve overall value for money in the provision of all services.

Housing: Standards

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many arm's length management organisations (ALMOs) managed residential properties have been brought up to the Decent Homes Standard since the start of the ALMOs programme in April 2002; and how many were brought up to that standard in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 14 March 2007
	The following table, based on returns from local authorities and ALMOs, shows the number of dwellings managed on behalf of the council by ALMOs which have been made decent in each year since 2002-03.
	
		
			  Number of homes made decent by ALMOs 
			   Dwellings 
			 2002-03 21,949 
			 2003-04 46,050 
			 2004-05 48,583 
			 2005-06 53,849 
			 2006-07(1) 51,524 
			 Total 221,955 
			 (1)Forecast.

Housing: Standards

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many residents of arm's length management organisations (ALMOs) managed residential properties have lived in homes brought up to the Decent Homes Standard  (a) since the start of the ALMOs programme in April 2002 and  (b) in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 14 March 2007
	Communities and Local Government does not currently collect specific returns on residents whose homes, managed on behalf of the council by ALMOs, have been brought up to the Decent Homes Standard. However, by using an average number of people per council home we can estimate the following figures.
	
		
			  Number of residents living in homes made decent by ALMO s 
			   Residents 
			 2002-03 48,946 
			 2003-04 102,692 
			 2004-05 108,340 
			 2005-06 120,083 
			 2006-07(1) 114,899 
			 Total 494,960 
			 (1) Forecast.

Housing: Standards

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with the Department for Work and Pensions on how its village agent workforce can work in tandem with home improvement agencies.

James Purnell: I have been asked to reply.
	Extensive discussions have taken place and the village agent workforce is already working in tandem with home improvement agencies.
	Village agents have strong links with the HIAs, building on their association with the community and adult care helpdesk and its FASTtrack minor adaptations service. The links between the organisations work in two directions as the HIA will also contact the adult helpdesk if they feel that a person who has been referred to them from another area would benefit from the assistance of the adult helpdesk and village agent if applicable.
	There are already results covering a range of referrals covering a wide band of HIA services.

Housing: Waiting Lists

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were registered on local authority housing waiting lists in  (a) each English region and  (b) each London local authority in 2006; and what the percentage change was on the previous year in each case.

Yvette Cooper: Information is available on numbers of households rather than people. The number of households on the waiting list for social housing in  (a) each English region  (b) each London local authority; and the percentage change on the previous year is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  (a) Number of households on waiting list for social housing, as at 1st April by region, as reported by local authorities 
			   2005  2006  Percentage change on previous year 
			 North East 89,747 95,359 6 
			 North West 200,600 217,397 8 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 227,430 247,499 9 
			 East Midlands 137,095 133,823 -2 
			 West Midlands 137,992 126,629 -8 
			 East of England 129,184 135,444 5 
			 London 309,072 328,116 6 
			 South East 181,196 195,700 8 
			 South West 131,193 151,220 15 
			 England 1,543,509 1,631,187 6 
			  Note: As reported by local authorities.  Source: Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA) 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Number of households on waiting list by London local authority, as reported by local authorities 
			   2005  2006  Percentage change on previous year 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,321 4,575 97 
			 Barnet 13,627 16,470 21 
			 Bexley 4,528 5,955 32 
			 Brent 17,351 16,398 -5 
			 Bromley 2,998 4,282 43 
			 Camden 16,532 9,562 -42 
			 City of London 1,204 1,427 19 
			 Croydon 8,856 9,271 5 
			 Ealing 14,324 15,936 11 
			 Enfield 7,872 7,055 -10 
			 Greenwich 7,666 10,239 34 
			 Hackney 7,744 8,815 14 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 8,384 7,795 -7 
			 Haringey 19,930 24,939 25 
			 Harrow 4,944 5,533 12 
			 Havering 3,477 3,876 11 
			 Hillingdon 7,471 7,136 -4 
			 Hounslow 10,382 11,666 12 
			 Islington 6,326 8,489 34 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 9,436 10,798 14 
			 Kingston upon Thames 4,903 5,726 17 
			 Lambeth 10,648 13,611 28 
			 Lewisham 18,279 17,535 -4 
			 Merton 5,188 3,278 -37 
			 Newham 25,317 29,574 17 
			 Redbridge 7,941 10,807 36 
			 Richmond upon Thames 4,898 5,726 17 
			 Southwark 7,548 8,057 7 
			 Button 3,724 3,408 -8 
			 Tower Hamlets 21,183 12,926 -39 
			 Waltham Forest 8,837 11,059 25 
			 Wandsworth 8,668 8,952 3 
			 Westminster 6,565 7,240 10 
			  Note: As reported by local authorities.  Source: Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA) 
		
	
	Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time.

Housing: Waiting Lists

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in Taunton constituency are on housing waiting lists; and how many have been waiting  (a) less than six months,  (b) six to 12 months,  (c) 12 to 18 months,  (d) 18 to 24 months and  (e) over 24 months for housing.

Yvette Cooper: The constituency of Taunton covers the whole of Taunton Deane district council but also includes a large part of West Somerset district council. Information is not collected at the constituency level, only at local authority level and includes households rather than people. Information on length of waiting time on a housing list for households is not held centrally.
	However, the number of households on the waiting list for social housing in Taunton Deane, as at 1 April each year, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600. The link for this table is as follows:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/embedded_object.asp?id=l163853
	Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time.

Land

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has she made of the effect of landbanking by developers on the cost of housing.

Yvette Cooper: Landbanking and option contracts were considered within Kate Barker's Review of Housing Supply, commissioned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Deputy Prime Minister. Her interim report (December 2003) found little evidence, across the country as a whole, to substantiate concerns that these practices allow housebuilders to erect barriers to entry into the market; however, once land is acquired, competitive pressure and responsiveness in the industry are reduced and faster rates of production may be more socially beneficial.
	In December 2006 the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced the Callcutt Review of Housebuilding Delivery. The Review will provide analysis of the acquisition, holding and disposal of land for housebuilding, the volumes of land held and the influence of land supply on levels of housebuilding production. This will include an assessment of the relationship between supply and demand for housing and any observed market failures and the means by which they may be addressed. We expect the Review to report in the autumn.

Land

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information her Department collects on landbanking by developers.

Yvette Cooper: Communities and Local Government does not collect information on landbanking by developers.
	The Callcutt Review of Housebuilding Delivery, announced by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in December 2006, will provide analysis of the acquisition, holding and disposal of land for housebuilding, the volumes of land held and the influence of land supply on levels of housebuilding production. This will include an assessment of the relationship between supply and demand for housing and any observed market failures and the means by which they may be addressed. We expect the Review to report in the autumn.

Local Government: Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Comprehensive Performance Assessment rankings and scores have been for every council since its introduction.

Phil Woolas: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member. The reply was sent on 22 March and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will respond to the letter of 12 January from the hon. Member for Billericay on the provisional local government finance settlement 2007-08 for Basildon council.

Phil Woolas: I have now replied to the hon. Member's letter.

Millennium Dome

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research has been conducted into the causes of the Millennium Dome cost over-runs.

Richard Caborn: I have been asked to reply.
	Since the final cost of the Millennium Experience was just 4 per cent. higher than the amount allowed for in the original May 1997 budget, we have not conducted any specific research. However, the National Audit Office published two wider reports on the Millennium Experience, "The Millennium Dome" (HC936) in 2000 and "Winding up the New Millennium Experience Company" (HC749) in 2002.

Non-Domestic Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether a material change to a business premises that increases the rateable value will result in an amended business rates bill prior to the next periodic business rates revaluation.

Phil Woolas: Billing authorities calculate and send out revised rates bills to ratepayers as soon as possible after changes in rateable values have been notified to them by valuation officers, rather than waiting until the next revaluation of non-domestic properties.

Planning Permission

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions she has had with the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment concerning issues of planning permission guidance; when those meetings took place; whether she plans to publish the minutes of the meeting; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 13 March 2007
	The Secretary of State has not met with the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) specifically to discuss issues related to planning. She last met with representatives from CABE on 21 November 2006 for a general discussion of their progress against agreed work priorities for 2006-07. At this meeting CABE did re-iterate views it had set out as part of its formal response to the consultation on the forthcoming Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing, with specific reference to the importance of emphasising good design.
	CABE is the Government's advisor on architecture, urban design and public space and therefore Communities and Local Government Ministers may meet with CABE for a variety of reasons each year. One meeting will normally be held to discuss CABE's objectives for the forthcoming year. Other meetings can involve a broad discussion on design issues which may include consideration of how CABE's programmes can support good quality outcomes from the planning process, for example through its design review service.
	There will also be occasions when Ministers and CABE representatives are both present at meetings and events that are also attended by other parties, and at which the planning system may be among the issues discussed.

Planning: Fees and Charges

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her most recent estimate is of the  (a) one-off cost and  (b) recurring costs of implementing the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications and Deemed Applications) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2005 (S.I., 2005 No. 843) to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators.

Yvette Cooper: Statutory Instrument 843 of 2005 relates to planning fees. The Regulatory Impact Assessment issued at the time balanced the additional cost to applicants (including businesses) against the benefit to applicants of a better-funded, more effective planning service.
	In the year since the fee increase (2005-06) research suggests that planning fee income to local authorities increased by £35 million. The number of local authorities meeting all their Best Value targets for turning round planning applications has gone up from 19 per cent. in the year ending 31 March 2004, to 64 per cent. in the year ending 31 March 2006.
	The cost to regulators was merely that of using existing staff to revise the legislation and inform stakeholders.

Regeneration: Finance

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was allocated to regeneration projects from her Department in each year between 2001-02 and 2005-06, broken down by by local authority area.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Regeneration: Finance

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many regeneration projects received funding from her Department in each year between 2001-02 and 2005-06, broken down by region.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Regeneration: Finance

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of her Department's spending was devoted to  (a) urban and  (b) rural regeneration and redevelopment in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05 and (iii) 2005-06.

Yvette Cooper: We estimate that around 32 per cent., 36 per cent. and 37 per cent. of the Department's main programme spend was spent on regeneration and redevelopment programmes for 2003-04 , 2004-05 and 2005-06 respectively. It is not possible to analyse how much of this expenditure could be considered to be urban and how much rural regeneration and redevelopment other than at disproportionate cost.

Rents: North West Region

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homeowners in  (a) England,  (b) the North West,  (c) Greater Manchester and  (d) Denton and Reddish constituency pay a rent charge.

Yvette Cooper: The precise address and location of a particular property is required to access this information from the Land Registry. It is not possible to provide the quantity of homeowners paying a rent charge without a description of all of the properties relevant to the enquiry. Information on particular premises can be obtained for a small charge by contacting the Land Registry.

Rents: Swindon

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what average rent was paid in Swindon by  (a) council tenants,  (b) tenants with a registered social landlord and  (c) tenants paying market rates in the most recent year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what average rent was paid for  (a) council housing and  (b) registered social landlord housing in each local authority in England in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The average rent paid for local authority housing was £57.90, and for registered social landlord housing it was £64.32. Figures are as at the end of April 2006 and for local authorities are based on unaudited information. Figures for the RSL sector are based on data collected by the Housing Corporation.
	The average rent paid by tenants in Swindon as at end April 2006 was £54.57 for local authority rents, and £67.54 for RSL rents.
	As part of the next restructuring programme, local authority and housing association rents for similar properties are converging. Information on average rent paid by private renters in Swindon is not available. This information is available by region as tabled.
	
		
			  Table 734: Rents, lettings and tenancies: mean rent( 1)  of "free market"( 2)  private tenancies: by region 
			  £ a month 
			   1994-95 and 1995-96 combined  1995-96 and 1996-97 combined  1996-97 and 1997-98 combined  1997-98 and 1998-99 combined  1998-99 and 1999-2000 combined  1999-2000 and 2000-01 combined 
			 North East 267 283 263 256 240 257 
			 North West 282 307 277 287 329 330 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 259 266 267 268 283 284 
			 The North 272 289 271 276 297 300 
			 East Midlands 251 256 266 303 304 279 
			 West Midlands 274 300 303 280 279 316 
			 The Midlands 262 278 285 290 291 296 
			 East 324 339 353 356 359 387 
			 London 502 549 577 613 642 655 
			 South East 386 390 421 437 441 470 
			 South West 283 306 318 339 355 364 
			 The South 400 426 445 465 483 511 
			 England 350 373 380 390 403 421 
		
	
	
		
			  £ a month 
			   2000-01 and 2001-02 combined  2001-02 and 2002-03 combined  2002-03 and 2003-04 combined  2003-04 and 2004-05 combined  2004-05 and 2005-06 combined 
			 North East 301 311 314 327 323 
			 North West 334 343 350 359 371 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 294 324 350 374 359 
			 The North 314 331 344 359 357 
			 East Midlands 323 357 364 371 385 
			 West Midlands 342 357 370 370 383 
			 The Midlands 332 356 366 371 384 
			 East 407 417 444 492 530 
			 London 713 817 827 775 798 
			 South East 517 584 586 565 588 
			 South West 396 413 419 446 469 
			 The South 553 613 628 614 639 
			 England 460 502 518 517 534 
			 (1) Before deduction of housing benefit where applicable. (2) Assured and assured shorthold tenancies accessible to the public without special conditions.  Note:  Sampling variability is too great for the figures to give a reliable indication of change between years at regional level.  Source:  DCLG Survey of English Housing  Latest update 4 October 2006 Next update November 2007

Right to Buy Scheme

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether tenants on housing benefit may exercise the right to buy.

Yvette Cooper: Tenants who are in receipt of housing benefit may exercise the right to buy if they meet the qualifying criteria—i.e. that they hold secure tenancies and have been public sector tenants for at least five years. However, their ability to do so would depend on the willingness of lenders to offer them mortgage finance, or the availability of financial assistance from family or friends.

Right to Buy Scheme

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average  (a) house price value and  (b) cost to the purchaser was after the discount of a right to buy council property in England in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: In 1996-97 the average value of a council property sold through the right to buy scheme in England was £41,000; after the discount was applied this represented an average cost to the purchaser of £21,000.
	In 2005-06 the average value of a council property sold through the right to buy scheme in England was £84,000; after the discount was applied this represented an average cost to the purchaser of £58,000.

Right to Buy Scheme

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average net receipt to the public finances is from a right to buy sale.

Yvette Cooper: The average capital receipt to the public finances from the sale of a council property through the right to buy scheme in England in 2005-06 was £58,000.

Right to Buy Scheme

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been sold under the right to buy since its introduction.

Yvette Cooper: Between 1 October 1980 and 31 March 2006, 1,735,000 council properties have been sold through the right to buy scheme in England.

Social Rented Housing

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many social housing tenants  (a) in each English region and  (b) in each London local authority moved via Homeswap in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: Homeswap was the name given to a scheme for social housing tenants who transfer from one local authority or housing association property to another, across local authority boundaries, by advertising their existing property for an exchange with a similar tenant wishing to move in the opposite direction. We do not collect data on Homeswap specifically, but do routinely collect data on mutual exchanges which include those formally arranged through the Homeswap scheme as well as any other exchanges within the local authority. Information is available on number of dwellings rather than social housing tenants. Dwellings let through mutual exchanges within the local authority are shown for the last five years in  (a) each English region and  (b) each London local authority in the table.
	
		
			  (a) Dwellings let through mutual exchange, as at 1 April by region, as reported by local authorities 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 North East 1,638 1,525 1,343 1,396 1,272 
			 North West 1,627 1,135 1,082 1,101 972 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,546 1,406 1,570 1,860 1,495 
			 East Midlands 2,478 1,668 1,468 1,556 1,463 
			 West Midlands 2,479 2,305 1,869 1,578 1,548 
			 East of England 3,195 2,707 2,444 2,248 2,207 
			 London 2,811 3,202 2,522 2,299 2,243 
			 South East 2,768 2,393 2,241 2,211 2,160 
			 South West 1,546 1,433 1,486 1,533 1,540 
			 England 20,088 17,774 16,025 15,782 14,900 
			  Source:  Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA). 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Dwellings let through mutual exchange, as at 1 April by London local authority, as reported by local authorities 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Barking and Dagenham 86 203 127 127 137 
			 Barnet 115 99 73 88 80 
			 Bexley 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Brent 21 16 23 16 29 
			 Bromley 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Camden 108 110 88 94 57 
			 City of London 4 6 4 5 6 
			 Croydon 154 154 148 159 145 
			 Ealing 102 105 61 15 46 
			 Enfield 68 103 90 150 138 
			 Greenwich 131 183 211 106 165 
			 Hackney 41 59 63 41 67 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 98 107 71 74 55 
			 Haringey 79 72 59 66 54 
			 Harrow 29 35 18 21 29 
			 Havering 72 63 46 56 64 
			 Hillingdon 162 145 141 101 69 
			 Hounslow 173 175 124 133 114 
			 Islington 193 139 163 101 167 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 31 30 36 15 .36 
			 Kingston upon Thames 41 45 40 46 34 
			 Lambeth 96 101 66 36 15 
			 Lewisham 250 291 160 148 93 
			 Merton 62 59 45 51 48 
			 Newham 107 115 99 88 85 
			 Redbridge 22 16 21 30 31 
			 Richmond upon Thames 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Southwark 144 180 160 128 133 
			 Sutton 79 85 98 98 74 
			 Tower Hamlets 111 141 62 84 26 
			 Waltham Forest 96 173 108 101 118 
			 Wandsworth 85 112 66 92 89 
			 Westminster 51 80 51 29 39 
			  Source:  Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA).

Social Rented Housing: Waiting Lists

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the effect of changes in the level of immigration on waiting lists for social housing.

Yvette Cooper: The Department does not collect information centrally on the number of migrants on local authority waiting lists. However, the Department does collect information on the number of lettings to foreign nationals by local authorities.
	In the 12 months up to September 2006, local authorities reported that under 1 per cent. of lettings were made to foreign nationals.

South East Plan

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1163W, on the South East Plan, if she will place in the Library a copy of the reports commissioned from Robert Tym and Partners.

Angela Smith: A copy of the report has been placed in the Library of the House.

Sustainable Development: Rapid Transit System

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for the integration of light rail systems  (a) into the new sustainable communities and  (b) in existing urban areas being regenerated.

Phil Woolas: The Government recognise that access to good quality local services and infrastructure, including transport, is a key element of creating sustainable communities. It is the responsibility of local authorities to determine their transport needs and to develop appropriate solutions in each case, taking account of local and regional plans.

Telecommunications

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether in addition to the forthcoming consultation on non-domestic rates for unbundled local loops she has any plans to take further steps on the wider review of rating telecoms infrastructure as outlined in the Government's response to the 2002 Annual Report from the Broadband Stakeholder Group.

Phil Woolas: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for North Warwickshire (Mr. O'Brien), to the then hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Allan) on 21 February 2005,  Official Report, column 245W. There are no plans to take any further steps on the rating of telecoms infrastructure beyond the forthcoming consultation and subsequent secondary legislation on local loop unbundling.

Temporary Accommodation: Swindon

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people lived in temporary accommodation in Swindon in each year since 1995.

Yvette Cooper: Information about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level, in respect of households rather than people.
	Information reported each quarter by local authorities about their activities under homelessness legislation includes the number of households in temporary accommodation on the last day of the quarter. The figures include both those households who have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty, and those for which enquiries are pending.
	A summary table showing the total number of households in temporary accommodation, from 1997-98 to 2005-06, for each local authority (including Swindon,) was placed in the Library of the House on 23 October 2006.
	Key data at local authority level are published in supplementary tables to our quarterly statistical release on statutory homelessness. These are placed in the Library each quarter, as well as published on our website. Data on the number of households in temporary accommodation in the Thamesdown district of Wiltshire, for years prior to 1997-98, are already available in the Library.
	In January 2005 the Government set a target of halving the number of households in all forms of temporary accommodation used by local authorities to discharge their main duty under the homelessness legislation.

Tenancy Deposit Scheme

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the proportion of letting agencies which will meet the implementation deadline of 6 April 2007 for the Tenancy Deposit Scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 14 March 2007
	 All letting agencies should be able to comply with the requirements of the tenancy deposit protection. From 6 April 2007 there will be three schemes for operation. A letting agent will be able to decide with their landlord clients to either insure the deposit with one of the two insurance based schemes or lodge the deposit with the custodial scheme.

Tenancy Deposit Scheme

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to ensure the Tenancy Deposit Scheme does not create a disproportionate administrative or financial burden for small businesses; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 14 March 2007
	 The Department has worked with stakeholders to ensure that the tenancy deposit protection scheme does not create an administrative or financial burden. There is no charge for the use of the custodial scheme and information that needs to be provided to a tenant has been kept to a minimum and is prescribed by the Department.

Unitary Councils

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much she has budgeted for the cost of assessment of unitary authority bids going to independent audit  (a) per bid and  (b) in total.

Phil Woolas: The assessment of proposals against the criteria are decisions for Ministers, having regard to all the relevant information available to them. This information will include for proposals that proceed to stakeholder consultation, the results of the limited assurance to the baseline financial data that will be carried out by the Audit Commission and for which the Commission will charge the authorities concerned.

Valuation Office

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 11 December 2006,  Official Report, column 906W, on the Valuation Office Agency, what the expected payments by  (a) Capgemini and  (b) the Agency to (i) CLT and (ii) Tyler Technologies are in 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: Payments will depend on the support to be provided, which is subject to discussion.

Waste Management: Domestic wastes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what advice the Audit Commission has provided to local authorities on the frequency of domestic rubbish collections.

Angela Smith: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member. The Chief Executive subsequently replied to him on 22 March and a copy of the letter has been placed in the Library of the House.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Departments: Credit Cards

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff in his Department have corporate charge cards; and whether he holds one.

John Prescott: Government procurement cards are used by civil servants as required in accordance with the terms of the Cardholders' Manual issued by Communities and Local Government, which administers cards on our behalf. I do not hold one.

Departments: Trade Unions

Theresa May: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many meetings he held with trade union representatives in 2006.

John Prescott: Ministers and civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and advice. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.

Departments: Database

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what databases are controlled by his Department; and what percentage of the data in each database he estimates is inaccurate or out of date.

John Prescott: The only databases controlled by my Department contain internal records of correspondence.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Departments: Publications

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place in the Library a copy of the Cabinet Office publication 'The Occupants Guide: A-Z of Key Services at The Admiralty Arch Building'.

Hilary Armstrong: The occupant guides are no longer in use.

Departments: Publications

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place in the Library copies of the last 12 months of the Cabinet Office's staff newsletter.

Hilary Armstrong: This is an internal staff journal and not for publication.

Departments: Publications

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place in the Library a copy of the latest edition of the Central Office of Information's IPO directory.

Patrick McFadden: The Central Office of Information's IPO (Information and Press Officers) Directory is now officially called the White Book and lists a wide range of contacts in Government Departments and agencies, not just information and press officers.
	The latest edition was distributed on 6 March and copies are available in the Library for the reference of Members.
	The next edition is due to be published at the end of July.

National Youth Volunteering Organisation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place in the Library the details of each project funded by the National Youth Volunteering Organisation, v; what estimate she has made of the number of people who volunteered through each project; what the  (a) cost and  (b) location was of each project; and on what date the project (i) commenced and (ii) ended.

Edward Miliband: Details of the projects funded by the independent charity v in its first grants round are contained in the press release issued by v on 27 September 2006. Copies will be placed in the Library for the reference of Members.
	In the first grants round, v has supported the creation of 42,000 volunteering opportunities involving 100 organisations. The break-down on funded projects shows 31 projects for short-term volunteering opportunities, 32 projects for part-time opportunities, 17 projects for full-time volunteering opportunities, and 20 projects through the v development teams. The projects funded ranged in size from providing 15 to 4,000 volunteering opportunities and from a cost of £240 to £298,500 for the total project cost.
	In addition, through partnerships with the private sector, 64 projects are being supported by the match fund to the tune of £7.5 million, which will create a further 43,000 opportunities.
	These projects are set to commence at various points between summer 2006 and spring 2008.
	Details of projects which v has supported will be made available in the Annual Report, which will be published this year.

Press Officers

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many press officers her Department employs; and at what cost.

Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office employs eight press officers at an estimated cost of £475,000 in 2006-07.

Primary Care Trusts

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Leominster (Bill Wiggin) of 22 February 2007,  Official Report, column 853W, on primary care trusts, which trusts have been visited; and if she will place in the Library copies of the reports of each visit.

Hilary Armstrong: The Prime Minister's Delivery Unit has visited the following 35 primary care trusts (PCTs) within the last year:
	Broxtowe and Hucknall
	Croydon
	Kingston
	Leeds
	Thurrock
	Tower Hamlets
	Somerset Coast
	Gateshead
	Oldham
	South Somerset
	Wandsworth
	East Surrey
	Calderdale
	East Sussex
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Manchester
	Wiltshire
	Herefordshire
	New Forest
	Southampton
	Lambeth
	Southwark
	North Sheffield
	Sheffield
	Barking
	Bromley
	Plymouth
	Redbridge
	Selby and York
	East Birmingham
	Cambridge
	Islington
	Eastleigh and Test Valley
	Westminster
	Stockport.
	The purpose of the visits is to gain an understanding from the front line of issues affecting delivery of key services, rather than assess the performance of individual PCTs. The resulting reports constitute confidential advice to Ministers and are not published.

DEFENCE

Courts Martial

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review the effectiveness of the courts martial process; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The courts-martial process was most recently examined during the passing of the 2006 Armed Forces Act. As a result changes are being made which include enhancing the role of the service police in the conduct of investigations likely to lead to a court-martial, and applying the same rules across the three services.

Armed Forces' Housing

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the provision of local authority housing for former members of the armed forces.

Derek Twigg: I discussed the issue of local authority housing for former members of the armed forces when I met my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government, on 13 March. We agreed that our officials should work together to ensure that servicemen and women are fairly treated in terms of access to social housing.

Iraq

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent progress has been made in training the Iraqi army; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The coalition has so far trained and equipped an Iraqi Army comprising ten divisions and around 135,000 personnel.
	The new Iraqi military headquarters in Baghdad has full operational control of four divisions of the Iraqi Army and more divisions will transfer over the coming months. This transfer of command and control is a critical step towards the Iraqi Government taking full responsibility for delivering security in Iraq.

Afghanistan

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of counter-narcotics operations on the level of insurgency in southern Afghanistan.

Des Browne: Targeted counter-narcotic operations by Afghan forces continue to contribute positively to the international effort to stabilize that country. While there has been some opposition, this has been localised and it is not assessed to have significantly affected the wider insurgency.

Afghanistan

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in establishing Afghanistan development zones; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: UK operations in Afghanistan are focused around the Lashkar Gah Development Zone. To date, the creation of six other Afghan Development Zones has been announced and we expect more to follow.

Afghanistan

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether British forces will take  (a) M26 and  (b) any other cluster munition rockets among the ammunition to be used by multiple launch rocket systems when deployed in Afghanistan.

Des Browne: No.

PFI Liabilities

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's private finance initiative liabilities are; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The MOD's private finance initiative commitments are published in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Injured Troops

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he next expects to meet Department of Health Ministers to discuss the medical treatment of injured service personnel.

Derek Twigg: I am looking forward to sharing a platform at the veterans plenary conference on 28 March with the Minister of State, Department of Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton). My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and I met with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health on 22 February. There is regular contact between our Departments at official level, both formally through the Partnership Board which meets three time a year, and informally as required.

Hercules Fleet

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made in the fitting of suppressant foam to the Hercules fleet.

Adam Ingram: The programme to fit explosive suppressant foam to the majority of the RAF Hercules fleet is ongoing. On current plans it is expected that this work will be completed around the end of the year.

Bevin Boys

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on proposals to recognise the contribution of the Bevin boys.

Derek Twigg: I met with Warwick Taylor, the vice-president of the Bevin Boys Association, on 7 February to discuss the most appropriate way to recognise the service of the Bevin Boys. Mr Taylor has since met with officials to discuss this matter further. I expect an announcement to be in made in the near future.

Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he  (a) has taken and  (b) is taking better to protect HM Forces from land mines in Afghanistan.

Adam Ingram: A range of measures are taken to protect UK armed forces from both anti-personnel and anti-tank mines. The best protection against mines can be provided by a combination of appropriate equipment and robust Training, Tactics and Procedures.
	The UK Task Force has an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Task Force which is skilled and well-trained for dealing with mine incidents. The UK's EOD Task Force has good knowledge of legacy minefields, and UK military personnel undertake mine awareness training.
	While not designated a 'Mine Protected Vehicle' the newly procured Mastiff, a wheeled patrol vehicle with a less intimidating profile than our tracked vehicles, offers good protection against a range of threats including mines. We are rapidly procuring 100 of these vehicles for use in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and they will be delivered to Afghanistan this spring.
	It is departmental policy that all troops deploying to Op. Herrick are provided with Enhanced Combat Body Armour before they deploy to theatre.
	This armour, as well as protecting against small-arms fire, could additionally protect against shrapnel and blast injuries.

Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for changes to the number of personnel deployed in Afghanistan.

Des Browne: As I explained to the House on 26 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 619-21, the UK has decided to fill one of NATO's most pressing requirements—a manoeuvre battalion for Regional Command (South). That means that over the summer our forces in Afghanistan will increase from around 6,300 to settle at around 7,700. The current planning assumption remains that these forces are committed until 2009. I and the Chiefs of Staff agree that this commitment is manageable.

Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many British helicopters are available to UK forces in Afghanistan;
	(2)  how many British  (a) Chinook,  (b) Lynx and  (c) Apache helicopters are (i) operationally available and (ii) fit to fly on a typical day in Afghanistan;
	(3)  for how many flying hours per day on average the British  (a) Lynx,  (b) Apache and  (c) Chinook helicopters are available in Afghanistan.

Adam Ingram: The following UK helicopters are currently based in Afghanistan: Chinook CH-47 support helicopters; Apache AH-64 attack helicopters; and Lynx light-utility helicopters. We would not expect all the helicopters to be available at any one time, due to requirements for routine maintenance, and therefore daily flying hours and availability will fluctuate. I am withholding further details as it would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of our armed forces.
	We continue to keep our helicopter requirements under review to ensure that we have sufficient helicopter support to meet current and anticipated tasks.

Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received of the effect on the operational effectiveness of Lynx helicopters in Afghanistan of warmer weather conditions.

Adam Ingram: We recognise that all helicopters have lift or payload constraints, and we take these into account when deploying a number of different helicopters as part of a varied fleet. Aircraft can be affected by variations in temperature and weather conditions, but I am withholding the information as it would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.

Air Force: Military Bases

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which  (a) Ministers,  (b) members of the Intelligence and Security Committee and  (c) other hon. Members have visited (i) RAF Menwith Hill, (ii) RAF Molesworth, (iii) RAF Lakenheath, (iv) RAF Mildenhall, (v) RAF Croughton, (vi) RAF Fairford, (vii) RAF Fylingdales and (viii) RAF St. Mawgan since January 2000; and what the date was of each such visit.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 23 February 2007
	Since January 2000 Defence Ministers have visited the RAF stations at Menwith Hill, Molesworth, Lakenheath, Mildenhall, Croughton, Fairford, Fylingdales and St. Mawgan on the following occasions:
	 Secretary of State
	5 July 2001—Visit to Menwith Hill
	6 January 2003—Visit to RAF Fylingdales
	15 July 2005—Visit to RAF Fairford
	 Minister for the Armed Forces
	24 February 2000—Visit to RAF Menwith Hill
	26 June 2003—Attendance at a public meeting at RAF Fylingdales
	19 October 2004—Visit to RAF Mildenhall
	17 August 2006—Visit to RAF Menwith Hill and RAF Fylingdales
	12 October 2006—Visit to RAF Fairford
	16 October 2006—Visit to RAF Molesworth
	 Minister for Defence Procurement
	21 July 2002—Visit to RAF Fairford
	18 July 2003—RIAT Dinner at RAF Fairford
	 Under Secretary of State for Defence
	16 July 2004—Visit to RAF Fairford
	Our records also show that members of the Intelligence and Security Committee made visits to RAF Menwith Hill on 22 May 2000, 18 October 2004 and 13 July 2006. Visits by other Members of Parliament to the RAF stations include:
	 RAF Menwith Hill
	Quentin Davies MP visited on 18 July 2001
	 RAF Molesworth
	Jonathan Djanogly MP visited on 10 January 2003, 25 July 2003, 21 April 2006, 29 September 2006 and 16 October 2006
	 RAF Mildenhall
	James Paice MP visited on 7 July 2006
	Richard Spring MP visited on 18 January 2002, 19 October 2004 and 14 July 2006
	 RAF Croughton
	Timothy Boswell MP visited on 26 May 2005
	 RAF Fairford
	The right hon. James Arbuthnot MP visited on 14 July 2006
	Colin Breed MP visited on 14 July 2006
	Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP visited on 24 September 2003 and 14 July 2006
	The right hon. Iain Duncan Smith MP visited on 16 April 2003
	Adam Holloway MP visited on 14 July 2006
	Gerald Howarth MP visited on 15 July 2005 and 15 July 2006
	Mark Lancaster MP visited on 14 July 2006
	Ian Liddell-Granger MP visited on 14 July 2006
	Andrew Rosindell MP visited on 15 July 2005 and 14 July 2006

Air Force: Military Bases

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the use of military airfields in the UK.

Adam Ingram: The number and operation of military airfields is constantly under review to ensure that the best use is made of the Defence Estate for our armed forces.

Armed Forces: Health Services

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received on the adequacy of medical care for injured service personnel; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: From 1 January to 20 March this year, Ministers had received some 50 representations from hon. Members and members of the public on the adequacy of medical care for injured service personnel.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Modern Housing Solutions call centres there are; and how many people are employed at each centre.

Derek Twigg: There is one Modern Housing Solutions helpdesk, which is located in Speke, Liverpool.
	89 staff currently work at the call centre.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests for repair call outs were received by Modern Housing Solutions in each of the last 12 months.

Derek Twigg: From 21 March 2006 to 21 March 2007 the following number of response repair call outs have been made:
	
		
			   Number 
			  2006  
			 March 5,153 
			 April 12,269 
			 May 13,792 
			 June 13,284 
			 July 15,087 
			 August 16,383 
			 September 16,014 
			 October 19,516 
			 November 18,624 
			 December 13,881 
			   
			  2007  
			 January 23,623 
			 February 16,485 
			 To 21 March 13,330

Armed Forces: Legal Profession

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) military and  (b) civilian personnel were serving with the Army legal corps in each year since 2000.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 19 March 2007
	The following table shows the number of military and civilian personnel working for the Army legal service (ALS) as at 1 January each year since 2000.
	
		
			  Adjutant general's corps (army legal services) trained army officer and civilian strength 
			  1 January:  Officers( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3)  Civilians( 4,)( )( 5) 
			 2000 80 70 
			 2001 100 60 
			 2002 100 70 
			 2003 100 80 
			 2004 100 80 
			 2005 100 90 
			 2006 110 90 
			 2007 120 90 
			 (1) Figures include all AG Corps (ALS) Officers including those Officers with a rank of Colonel and above. (2) The figures are for trained regular army officers only and therefore exclude all reservists. (3) Only Army personnel capbadged AG ALS are included in the figures. Therefore the figures exclude those personnel from other arm/services attached to or supporting AG ALS. (4) Civilians working in the following units are included: Director General Legal Services, Directorate of Army Legal Services, Army Prosecuting Authority (Germany), HQ Army Prosecuting Authority (UK), Office for Standards of Casework and the Officer and Soldier Complaints Authority Army Appeals Wing. (5) Full-time equivalent staff. Counts part-time staff by the number of hours they work as a proportion of their full-time conditioned hours.  Note: All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what points Ministers have sought permission from Her Majesty the Queen for servants of the Crown to wear European Union flag unit insignia upon their uniforms.

Derek Twigg: The European Union insignia as worn is not formally a flag, but a circular patch. Approval from Her Majesty the Queen is required for the wearing of insignia which contain a crown. The European Union symbol, worn below the Union flag, does not fall into this category.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the next vehicle expected is in the future rapid effect system series after the Panther Command and Liaison vehicle;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the priority accorded to  (a) the personnel carrier and  (b) the direct fire version in the development of future rapid effect system medium weight vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Panther Command and Liaison vehicle does not form part of the future rapid effect system (FRES) programme. The FRES utility vehicle, which will carry personnel as one of its roles, is currently afforded the highest priority and is likely to be the first variant to enter service. A direct fire variant may follow; the Department is continuing to examine the requirement and options as part of the assessment phase.

Army: Manpower

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel there were in the Army in each year since 1992.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 22 March 2007
	 I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 22 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1557W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Lynda Waltho).

Departments: Art Works

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on art work for its main building in 2005-06.

Derek Twigg: No works of art were bought for the Main Building, nor for any other MOD building, in 2005-06. £52,992 was spent in 2005-06 on maintenance tasks for the MOD Art Collection, including conservation, re-framing, re-hanging and photography.

Departments: Official Hospitality

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many regimental dinners took place in 2006; and what the total cost was of those dinners.

Derek Twigg: Information on how many regimental dinners took place in 2006 is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	All Army messes are supported by contracts that include provision for a number of functions each year, for which attendees are charged the costs of food and drink. Some of these will be regimental dinners. If a regiment wants to hold additional functions, the drink and staff costs are met by private regimental funds and not the Defence budget. It is therefore not possible to provide the total cost of regimental dinners in 2006.

Falkland Islands: Anniversaries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what celebrations his Department is preparing for the 25(th) Anniversary of the liberation of the Falkland Islands.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 11 January 2007,  Official Report, column 711W, to his earlier question on this subject. Preparations for the commemorations that I have outlined are now well under way.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many courts martial have been held to try the conduct of British soldiers in Iraq; and what the charges were in each case in which no legal proceedings remain active.

Adam Ingram: Since 2003, there have been a total of 36 courts-martial held to try the conduct of British soldiers serving in Iraq.
	The charges in each case are:
	
		
			  Courts-martial  Charges 
			  2003  
			 0 — 
			   
			  2004 (10)  
			 1 Wounding with Intent 
			 2 Theft 
			 3 Theft 
			 4 Disobeying a Lawful Command 
			 5 Disobeying a Lawful Command 
			 6 Disgraceful Conduct 
			 7 2 charges of Aggravated Vehicle Taking 
			 8 Wounding with Intent 
			 9 Aggravated Vehicle Taking 
			 10 Indecent Assault 
			   
			  2005 (12)  
			 11 Section 69 Conduct 
			 12 Section 33 Using Violence 
			 13 Theft 
			 14 Disgraceful Conduct 
			 15 3 charges of Disgraceful Conduct; Battery and Section 69 
			 16 Conduct 
			 17 Negligence 
			 18 Section 69 Conduct 
			 19 Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm 
			 20 Battery 
			 21 Drunkenness 
			 22 7 charges of Murder 
			   
			  2006 (11)  
			 23 Disgraceful Conduct 
			 24 2 charges of Racially Aggravated Harassment 
			 25 Handling Stolen Goods 
			 26 4 charges of Manslaughter 
			 27 2 charges of Corruption 
			 28 Theft 
			 29 Possession of a Controlled Drug 
			 30 Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm 
			 31 Dishonesty 
			 33 Battery 
			 34 2 charges of Possession of a Prohibited Weapon and 2 charges of Perversion of the Course of Public Justice 
			   
			  2007 to date (2)  
			 35 Theft 
			 36(1) 3 charges of Negligently Performing a Duty; Assault occasioning Actual Bodily Harm; 2 charges of Inhuman Treatment; Manslaughter; and Perversion of the Course of Public Justice 
			 (1) In case 36 there is an additional one charge of Inhuman Treatment which still has legal proceedings outstanding.

Marines: Manpower

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Marine commandos there are; and what the planned target number for the period 2006-07 was.

Adam Ingram: On 1 February 2007 there were 5,540 trained Royal Marines Commandos.
	The requirement for Royal Marines Commandos in April 2006 was 5,970 and 6,030 in April 2007.
	 Note:
	These figures include Regular personnel and exclude full-time reserve personnel and activated reservists.

Military Fatalities

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military fatalities have been repatriated through RAF Brize Norton in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 23 March 2007
	 The number of military fatalities that have been repatriated through RAF Brize Norton in each of the last five years are:
	
		
			   Personnel repatriated 
			 2003 53 
			 2004 39 
			 2005 15 
			 2006 50 
			 2007 (to date) 12 
			 Total personnel 169

Navy: Deployment

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy ships are in service; how many were in service in 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: In August 1997 the Royal Navy had 98 ships in service. The Royal Navy currently has 75 ships in service although HMS Invincible is held at low readiness. These totals include: landing platform docks, landing platform helicopter, aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, mine countermeasures ships, river class offshore patrol vessels, inshore patrol craft, survey ships and the royal yacht.

RAF Lyneham

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what extra resources he plans to make available to RAF Lyneham when they take over responsibility for military repatriation on 1 April.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 23 March 2007
	 An assessment has been made of the implications for the Station from which it was determined that the task could be absorbed within existing manpower resources. Any financial costs resulting from the ceremonies can be claimed from the Contingency Fund.

Service Personnel: South African Citizens

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1173W, on service personnel: South African citizens, what progress has been made on the officials' visit to South Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 19 March 2007
	 The draft South African legislation on mercenaries and membership of the armed forces of other nations has completed its parliamentary process, and is currently with the President awaiting his assent although we are unable to establish when and if this may be given. Active engagement with the South African Department of Defence is on-going and we hope to secure a date for the officials' visit at the earliest opportunity.

Type 45 Destroyers

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the minimum number of Type 45 destroyers necessary to provide area air defence for the fleet; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 10 May 2006,  Official Report, column 290W, to the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis).

Unidentified Flying Objects

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent producing the report Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in the UK Air Defence Region; who the author was; what the author's qualifications in this subject were; to whom the report was circulated; what actions were taken on the recommendations of the report; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: It is not possible to provide accurate details as to the cost of producing the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena report as this was one of several tasks that were included within a single contract and detailed costings for each of these tasks is not available. However, it is estimated that the overall cost was approximately £50,000.
	The author of the report was a contractor and was employed by the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) on a long-term contract. Further details of the author, including the name, are being withheld under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998.
	The report was circulated within the DIS and to other branches of the Ministry of Defence and RAF. As recommended by the report, the DIS ceased to monitor unidentified aerial phenomena sighting reports (and therefore reaped a saving in staff time) as they contained no information of Defence Intelligence interest and no further action was taken.

HEALTH

Bexley Community Health NHS Trust

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding was provided by her Department to Bexley Care Trust for  (a) prevention and  (b) treatment of (i) sexually transmitted diseases, (ii) obesity, (iii) diabetes and (iv) alcoholism in each of the last five years.

Andy Burnham: All primary care trusts (PCTs), including Bexley Care Trust are responsible for meeting the overall health needs of their community from their mainstream funding—including the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, obesity, diabetes and alcoholism.
	The 2006-07 and 2007-08 revenue allocations to PCTs separately identify £211 million in 2006-07 and £342 million in 2007-08 to support the initiatives set out in the White Paper, "Choosing Health: making healthy choices easier" (such as sexual health modernisation, action on diet, activity and obesity and alcohol interventions).
	It is for PCTs to determine how to use the funding allocated to them to commission services to meet the health care needs of their local populations. PCTs were informed of their shares of the £342 million funding but not their shares of each initiative.

Bowel Cancer Screening

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards  (a) establishing and  (b) evaluating pilots of flexible sigmoidoscopy as part of bowel cancer screening for people in their fifties.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 23 March 2007
	Flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) is a potential way of screening for bowel cancer. A large clinical trial, funded by the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK, has looked into screening healthy people for bowel cancer using FS. The final results are not expected until 2008 but early results have been very promising and have shown that this type of screening will help to prevent bowel cancer and be cost effective. However, we do not know yet how many lives it could save. Based on these promising results, the Government are now funding a pilot study at St. Mark's hospital in London to examine the feasibility of FS screening performed by specialist nurses. The pilot is inviting 2000 men and women aged 58 and 59. The study is costing £400,000, and is expected to report in 2008.

Breast Feeding

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to promote breast feeding in 2007-08.

Caroline Flint: The Department is planning a comprehensive year-round communications package, including marketing support that will be launched at the National Breast Feeding Awareness Week to be held on 13-19 May. We are in the process of developing activities such as television and radio filler advertising, updating website, and PR activity as well as developing educational and promotional materials. We are also working with UNICEF in developing joint publications on infant feeding.
	The Department is continuing to work with the Food Standards Agency on the implementation of the European Union Directive on infant formula and follow-on formula. In addition, we have appointed a new National Infant Feeding Adviser, who will be actively involved in promoting breast feeding by developing activities locally to help increase breast feeding rates and supporting health professionals.

Breast Feeding

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department spent promoting breast feeding in each year between 2002-03 and 2006-07; which organisations received such funding in each year; and for what purposes funding was provided in each year.

Caroline Flint: Since 2002, the Department has funded a range of activities promoting breast feeding and infant feeding. The following table sets out the funding provided each year for breast feeding promotion from 2002-07.
	
		
			  Financial year  Departmental spend on breast feeding promotion (£) 
			 2002-03 280,000 
			 2003-04 462,000 
			 2004-05 747,000 
			 2005-06 743,000 
			 2006-07 729,011 
		
	
	Most of the funding available was spent centrally in developing promotional and educational materials, PR activities for the breast feeding campaigns, developing and updating websites, conferences and supporting the work of the National Network of Breast Feeding Co-ordinators.
	In 2004-05, the Department spent approximately £350,000 in developing and distributing a resource pack for health professionals. Since 2005, the Department provided approximately £12,000 to the breast feeding network in support of developing a national helpline number on breast feeding. In addition, the Department has also provided grants to four voluntary organisations under the Section 64 Grants Scheme to promote their work on breast feeding. We have provided core grant of £13,000 for 2007-08 to the Association of Breast feeding Mothers.

Care Homes: Fees and Charges

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the number of people in residential care homes of whom third-party top-up fees are  (a) sought and  (b) received; what estimate she has made of the average top-up fee paid in respect of such people; and what steps the Government are taking to prevent such fees being regressive;
	(2)  if she will bring forward proposals to reduce the number of care home residents who are affected by third-party top-up fees; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: This information is not collected centrally in the form requested. However, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) conducted a United Kingdom wide survey of 'Care Homes For Their Care Homes For Older People in the UK' report, published in May 2005. The OFT found that the average care home in the UK had 32 places of which 29 were occupied. Of these, seven, around 24 per cent. were paid for by a combination of the local authority and a third-party top-up. The UK average third-party top-up was £65.33p a week.
	The detail of contracting arrangements between local councils and care homes is a matter for local decision. The Government do not set or recommend rates at which councils contract with care homes. We think it is important that councils are able to tailor contracts to specific local circumstances. However, the Government have made available record levels of funding for social care. Since 1997, Government grants for local services, including social care, have increased by £28.4 billion or 39 per cent. in real terms.
	This substantial funding is making a real difference. Although, in their annual 'Care of the Elderly: UK Market Survey 2006' report, independent market analysts Laing and Buisson reported that around half of local authorities increased the fees they pay to care homes by less than 3.5 per cent. This follows a three year period, 2002-03 to 2004-05 during which Laing and Buisson reported that payments increased at an unprecedented rate. This is clear evidence that local authorities have been using the additional resources provided by central Government to increase payments to care homes and rebalance the care home market.

Care Homes: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residential care home places there are in each strategic health authority (SHA); and what the average cost per place is in each SHA.

Andy Burnham: I am informed by the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that data on the number of care homes and places are not collected by strategic health authority area. CSCI is able to supply information on the number of care homes and places in its regions, of which there are nine in England. These data are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of registered adult care and nursing homes and places by CSCI region 
			  Region  Homes  Places 
			 East Midlands 1,605 40,809 
			 Eastern 1,859 45,933 
			 London 2,012 40,314 
			 North East 948 25,723 
			 North West 2,237 61,631 
			 South East 3,642 79,418 
			 South West 2,634 56,479 
			 West Midlands 1,931 44,446 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,713 47,967 
			 Totals 18,581 442,720 
			  Note: Numbers include residential homes for older people and for younger adults (aged 18-65).  Source: CSCI registration and inspection database—snapshot on 13 March 2007. 
		
	
	Information on the costs of care home places is not collected centrally.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking  (a) to reduce the decline in and  (b) to increase the numbers of women attending for cervical screening.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 7 March 2007,  Official Report, column 2094-95W.

Community Health Services: Tolls

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the potential impact of road pricing on funding allocated to community health workers.

Stephen Ladyman: I have been asked to reply 
	and refer to my answer given today to question UIN 126159.

Doctors

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of levels of motivation of doctors in the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: The Department takes the welfare of all national health service employees very seriously. Morale among NHS staff can be difficult to gauge; however, the Healthcare Commission NHS annual staff surveys in 2005 indicated that staff remain generally satisfied, with job satisfaction identified as 73.78 per cent. across all staff, 69.32 per cent. within acute trusts and all medical staff in acute trusts 73.31 per cent.

Health Services: Greater London

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has carried out equality impact assessments of  (a) the decision to close the Maudsley hospital 24-hour emergency clinic,  (b) the reduction in the budget of the South London and Maudsley NHS hospital trust for 2007-08,  (c) the reduction in the budget of the Southwark primary trust for 2007-08 and  (d) the reduction in the budget of the Lambeth primary care trust for 2007-08.

Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the answers provided, 20 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 858-59W and 861-62W.

Health Services: Gambling

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to provide additional services to treat gambling addiction in areas approved for the licensing of a large casino, with particular reference to Solihull.

Rosie Winterton: Problem gamblers, who are entitled to treatment under the national health service, can access services in primary care and secondary care including specialised mental health and addiction services. There are currently no central plans to provide additional services in areas approved for the licensing of a large casino. However, we will continue to be responsible for assessing and commissioning services to meet the needs of the populations that they serve.

Heart Diseases

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average period of time was which patients have waited for a myocardial perfusion scan in  (a) West Lancashire,  (b) the North West and  (c) England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested. The table shows the number of people waiting more than six and 13 weeks for a routine myocardial perfusion study.
	
		
			  Waiting times information for routine myocardial perfusion study, August 2006 
			  Organisation code  Organisation name  Number waiting six to 13 weeks  Number waiting over 13 weeks 
			 RVY Southport and Ormskirk Hospital National Health Service Trust 0 0 
			 RXL Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 63 256 
			 RXN Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 101 85 
			 Q31 All North West Strategic Health Authority 716 1,715 
			  All England 3,981 4,298 
			  Source:  Department of Health, Diagnostic Census.

Heart Diseases: Irish

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of research on the risk faced by Irish people in England dying prematurely from heart disease compared to other groups; and what steps are being taken by her Department to address this risk.

Rosie Winterton: The Health Survey for England 2004 supplement, The Health of Minority Ethnic Groups, collected information from the seven largest minority ethnic groups in England including Black Caribbean, Black African, Indian, Pakistan, Bangladeshi, Chinese and Irish. The general population survey reported that cardiovascular disorder diagnosed by a doctor was most prevalent in Irish men and women.
	The survey also looked at risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Significantly, it shows that Irish men were more obese and that their prevalence for smoking and drinking was higher than the general population. Irish women have higher blood pressure and both drink and smoke more than the general population. These are all risk factors for CVD which includes coronary heart disease (CHD).
	The Department has an overarching target to improve mortality for CVD which incorporates a specific target for tackling health inequalities:
	To improve the health of the population by substantially reducing the mortality rates by 2010, (from the OHN baseline, 1995-97) from heart disease and stroke related diseases by at least 40 per cent. in people under 75, with at least a 40 per cent. reduction in the inequalities gap between the fifth of areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators and the population as a whole.
	Those areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators have been designated Spearhead primary care trusts. They are responsible for designing and delivering services to meet the needs of their local population, taking account of issues such as ethnic mix. Latest data show continued improvements in CVD mortality inequalities with a 27.9 per cent. reduction in the absolute CVD inequality gap. This has been achieved by promoting healthier lifestyles and with the increased distribution of preventative drugs such as statins.

Kidney Diseases

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in  (a) the UK,  (b) the West Midlands and  (c) Coventry.

Rosie Winterton: There is no national registry of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Over 99.9 per cent. of people with CKD will be under the care of general practitioners and not be seen by secondary or tertiary hospital services.
	At general practice level, the maintenance of a practice register of patients with CKD became a part of the quality and outcomes framework in April 2006, which in due course should mean that a very rich dataset will be available for every community in the country.

Kidney Diseases

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to encourage early treatment to prevent renal failure.

Rosie Winterton: Part 2 of the "National Service Framework for Renal Services" sets out the Department's strategy for early identification and management of chronic kidney disease, and for slowing down its progression. This has been reinforced by the introduction of a set of indicators relating to chronic kidney disease in the quality and outcomes framework, which rewards general practitioners for developing services in this area.

Kidney Diseases

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans her Department has for the long-term provision of dialysis facilities.

Rosie Winterton: Part 1 "Dialysis and Transplantation—The National Service Framework for Renal Services: Dialysis and Transplantation", which is available in the Library, sets out the Department's vision for the sufficiency and quality of dialysis services in the national health service. Standard 4 of the National Service Framework aims to improve the outcomes for people on dialysis and maximise their rehabilitation, quality of life and survival.

Kidney Diseases

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has plans to increase the provision and availability of home dialysis equipment.

Rosie Winterton: Choice is acknowledged as being of paramount importance in the "National Service Framework for Renal Services", and that choice includes home dialysis. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has recommended that patients should be offered the choice of home haemodialysis, where clinically indicated, as a cost- effective alternative to haemodialysis in a hospital or satellite unit. The Department is currently hosting a seminar to promote the availability of home dialysis in the national health service.

Mental Health Services: Ethnic Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health why the best practice guide Positive Steps: Supporting Race Equality in Mental Health Care of 21 February 2007 does not include the Irish as a specific category; and whether this practice is consistent with the categories recommended in the Department's guide to ethnic monitoring.

Rosie Winterton: The Department is committed to the promotion of equality in the national health service, for staff, patients and the public. Delivering race equality (DRE) in mental health is a comprehensive five-year action plan for tackling racial inequality in mental health care.
	The definition of black minority ethnic (BME) in the DRE action plan is used to refer to all minority ethnic groups in England. It does not only refer to skin colour but to people of all groups who may experience discrimination and disadvantage, such as those of Irish origin, Mediterranean origin and East Europe migrants.
	Most of the Positive Steps guide is applicable to all these groups. The guide is intended to expand and develop over time. It currently includes information specific to two BME communities. Information on others, including the Irish, will be added shortly.

Mid-Essex Hospital Trust: Vacancies

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will clarify her answer of 20 March 2007 to question 127533, tabled by the hon. Member for West Chelmsford, on vacancies at the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust.

Andy Burnham: The Department does not collect estimates of projected vacancy levels by trust. It is for local national health service providers in consultation with commissioners, to estimate their work force requirements to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations.
	The national three-month vacancy survey due to be carried out at the end of this month will show how many vacancies have been unfilled for three months in each trust in England. The results of this survey will be published in the summer.

Midwives

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many registered midwives  (a) left the NHS,  (b) returned to the NHS and  (c) were made redundant in each of the last 12 years for which records are available; and how many of these posts were not then filled or replaced.

Rosie Winterton: The number of registered midwives who left the national health service in the last 12 years is not collected centrally.
	Since 1999 over 1,200 midwives had returned to the NHS as at March 2004.
	Information on redundancies was collected for the first time last year. There were nine compulsory midwife redundancies in England in the nine months up to 31 December 2006.
	This needs to be seen in the context of the last census showing there were 24,808 midwives employed in the NHS in England, an increase of 2,423 (10.8 per cent.) since 1997.
	Information on how many of these posts were not then filled or replaced is not collected centrally.

Midwives: Manpower

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives left the profession in the last three years for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Midwives: Manpower

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of independent midwives who are likely to leave the profession as a result of the new rules requiring professional indemnity insurance.

Rosie Winterton: No estimate has been made centrally. All registered health care professionals will be required to have professional indemnity insurance to protect the public in the event of a claim for negligence. While it is important to consider independent midwives, especially in relation to extended choice and diversity of provision, it cannot be at the cost of the protection of the woman.

NHS Expenditure

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1719-20W, on NHS expenditure, whether her Department has discussed the consistency of methodology for calculating health expenditure per capita with officials from the Welsh Assembly Government.

Andy Burnham: In submitting the data, officials from the Department and the Welsh Assembly Government did not hold specific discussions on the comparability of the data.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) expenditure per unweighted head of each primary care trust and  (b) (i) in-year and (ii) accumulated financial position was of each primary care trust for (A) 2003-04, (B) 2004-05 and (C) 2005-06.

Andy Burnham: The information on expenditure per unweighted head of each primary care trust (PCT) has been placed in the Library. Data on the in-year financial position for individual PCTs for the years requested are not held centrally. PCTs manage their resources on an annual basis, therefore the year-end financial position represents the accumulated position. This information has also been placed in the Library.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) accumulated financial position of the NHS and  (b) the in-year financial position of the NHS was in each year since 1996-97.

Andy Burnham: The national health service manages its resources on an annual basis, therefore the year-end financial position represents the accumulated position. The in-year financial position can only be provided from 2002-03 as this the first year that adjustments for prior year performance were made. These figures are presented in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Total NHS net surplus/(deficit)  Total NHS in-year surplus/(deficit) 
			 1996-97 (459) n/a 
			 1997-98 (121) n/a 
			 1998-99 (18) n/a 
			 1999-2000 (129) n/a 
			 2000-01 112 n/a 
			 2001-02 71 n/a 
			 2002-03 96 (5) 
			 2003-04 73 68 
			 2004-05 (221) (298) 
			 2005-06 (547) (407) 
			 2006-07(1) (437) 269 
			 (1) Quarter three forecast.  Notes: 1. The figures in the table exclude foundation trusts. 2. The 2006-07 forecast figures exclude the £450 million savings identified by SHAs through their continued prudent management of central NHS programme funds.  Source: NHS Summarisation Schedules 1996-97 to 2005-06 and NHS financial monitoring returns 2006-07

NHS: Tolls

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the weekly cost to the national health service of the introduction of road user charging.

Stephen Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
	No decisions have been taken on a national road pricing scheme. The Government are working with local authorities interested in establishing local pricing schemes to address local congestion problems, and the first of these are expected to be in place in four to five years. Any decision on a national road pricing scheme will only be taken on the evidence of these schemes.
	Given that no decisions have been taken on whether to introduce national road pricing and if so what form it might take, it is not possible to estimate the potential impact on specific groups or sectors at this stage.

Nurses: Cumbria

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent school nurses there were in Cumbria in each year between 1997 and 2006.

Rosie Winterton: I refer to the right hon. Member to the answer given on 20 March 2007,  Official Report, column 850W.

Pinderfields

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from the hon. Member for Normanton (Ed Balls) on Pinderfields hospital in the last 12 months.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 23 March 2007
	My right hon. Friend the former Minister of State for Quality and Patient Safety, (Jane Kennedy), met with my hon. Friends the Members for Hemsworth (Jon Trickett), Normanton (Ed Balls), Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), Selby (Mr. Grogan), and Elmet (Colin Burgon) on 29 March 2006.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met with my hon. Friends the Members for Hemsworth (Jon Trickett), Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), Wakefield (Mary Creagh) and my noble Friend Lord Lofthouse on 21 November 2006.

Smoking: Legislation

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish guidance on the enforcement and implementation of the smoke-free legislation.

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance her Department has provided to local authorities on enforcing the public smoking ban.

Caroline Flint: The Department published guidance on smoke-free legislation for businesses on 23 March.
	The guidance entitled "Everything you need to prepare for the new smoke-free law on 1 July 2007" includes support materials to assist business to be ready for implementation, including no-smoking signs. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	The guidance will be posted during April to businesses in England with employees, and is also available on the Smokefree England website at www.smokefreeengland.co.uk
	The Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) has published on 23 March guidance for local council regulatory officers to support the successful and consistent implementation of smoke-free legislation across England. The LACORS guidance was developed in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and in consultation with the Department. The guidance has been placed in the Library.

Speech Therapy

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS institutions employ speech and language therapists; and what proportion of such institutions decided not to recruit newly qualified practitioners in 2006.

Rosie Winterton: The number of speech and language therapists employed by primary care trusts has been placed in the Library.
	If any of these institutions have decided not to recruit newly qualified practitioners in 2006 it is not recorded centrally.